This is what the Cheif Marketing and Strategy guy Yusuf Mehdi had to say when asked a similar question:
So now that Kinect is optional and there’s a $399 price point, there are a lot of comparisons to PS4. What do you view as your main differentiator now if someone’s buying a standalone Xbox One system compared to PS4? The consoles are starting to seem pretty similar these days, especially in the wake of this announcement.
I think there are four main areas in terms of how ours system is differentiated. First is that the reason people buy these consoles is to play games. We’ve got the best games line-up. We had the best games line-up this past holiday if you talk to most experts in the games industry. As we go into E3, you’re going to see an incredible games line-up. Knock on wood, I believe we’re going to have a great games line-up for this coming holiday as well.
Second thing is people buy games to play with their friends. We have had the best multiplayer gaming system in this space for many years with Xbox Live Gold. We’ve really set the standard. You get better matchmaking capability with SmartMatch, you get better protection against people who cheat. Xbox Live Gold is the best place to come play with your friends.
Third is the original vision we had for Xbox One, which is an all-in-one entertainment device, and it still is, even with the $399 SKU. You still get Xbox One as an input one device where you can still watch live TV, do two things at once, input switch. A lot of the things you do with entertainment you just can’t even do on other systems. We’re really built for the future.
And finally you can still add on Kinect to create all these additional experiences with voice commands, biometric recognition, recording gameplay and more.
Those four things make it very differentiated, and now that the price points are the same, and people looking at games and entertainment experiences are future-proofing, I feel that we have a very differentiated system.
My take:
Wont' knock on anyone's opinion about which console has the best library. I think in the coming months and years that quantity is gonna be too far in favor of the competition to use this point though.
They set the standard in the past but as other changes such as apps not behind a paywall and games with gold indicate Sony is the bar right now irrespective of how things were seen in the past.
As he said himself the first reason people buy a console is because of games. Spending so much time investing in these features is A PART OF what got them in hot water in the first place. PS4 can't even play MP3s.
You can get that sans voice commands with a cheaper peripheral on the competition too. Singstar has voice commands why not PS4 Sony? That would have been something to share in those collaborative planning and technology disucssions with all your developers. I know all you need is a mic and PS4 camera has them.
I think if those are the only differentiators then they are in trouble. It all really boils down to his first statement about having the best games. I wonder if they can keep that perception going forward. Maybe they should do an old fashioned smear campaign advertisements . Tired of waiting for greatness? check out our lineup and flash that price at the end. If you think you have the superior lineup it shouldn't be a problem.
Edited to provide source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2014/05/13/microsofts-yusuf-mehdi-explains-the-xbox-ones-split-with-kinect-2/