Microsoft is making profit off of many things right now that dont have anything to do with developing new IP, but rather using games and accessories that have the ability to generate massive amounts of income. They are following the EA and Activison model which is why they are so big on the service model which keeps you focused and spending on one game. The plan seems to have worked because despite their bad sales for the year, they've made so much more circumventing expansion of marketshare through alternative income possibilities. 

Close the xbox hardware division entirely and develop games for switch, PS4 and PC, focus on PC gaming utilizing the xbox live service and all money that would normally go into hardware development, instead put into building new Ip's and developing better game creation tools for PC, that cross compile for other platforms (like unity), become the go to tools etc for indies.

Microsoft has always done best with software, they should go software only.

The question is.....does Sony or Nintendo want any of their ip's outside of Halo and Gears? I thik Nintendo and Sony would go for Ori in this day and age as they have their own shooters.

Why would that be a question, they'd be third party, it wouldn't matter what they thought, and clearly there's a market for xbox games, you don't sell 30 million consoles for no reason. 

Microsoft needs to be put in the hands of some one who doesn't believe money is no object and that gaming is their only bread and butter. If they had this mentality their creativity and will to create new and great games would be top priority. The reason Microsoft doesn't do this efficiently is because their decisions are made by execs who have zero creativity and are only focused on profitability when both should be on their mind simultaneously. Of course, this is just my opinion.

Microsoft has spent so much time buying other peoples games that they forget that standing out requires you to have your own identity.

Microsoft would be more valuable as a third party for online and accessories than they ever would be for actual games. Trust me on this. Their accessories and online are where its at. Third party have been carrying them. 

Microsofts gained more value from buying IP's than they have from making them. The only great things Microsoft have actually made that lasted a certain period of time was Forza and Fable. Halo and Gears were coming in some capacity regardless of their existence. Still to this day their narrative and ideal is still simply to pay third party to make games for them. This is wrong and only sets a standard that they will amass a mountain of ips that are unique to their actual developmental ability. When those developers are gone and move onto other more promising projects that Microsoft wouldnt back. They like to frustrate companies out of their creative existenc by focusing them on one game. A company is doomed to making the same game for a decade or more just because they succeeded at making a hit.

Microsoft and Sony both have areas of bussiness other than gaming. For MS their non-gaming bussiness is so profitable that their gaming division can fail without effecting their overall profit margins. For Sony their non-gaming bussiness has been struggling for decades and it drags down all the profits from their gaming division. 

I'd buy Apple.

Well ,  Today is not 2012.

This. This is why Sony has to make sure Playstation is profitable.  Microsoft doesnt have to follow suit because the gaming realm doesnt do much for their bottom line.