True, Sony really dropped the ball with the PS3, but even still; it won't hurt MS to try to get ahead into next gen. More cross development with PC using their newly acquired studios could help them lift them into a decent start. Remaining where they are right now could seriously harm the Xbox brand. The biggest issue I see is the will to spend the funds to try a head start, the Xbox division has been hanging more or less by a thread for some time from MS corporation centrally, and plenty of higher ups want to axe it and put focus elsewhere. 

True, Sony really dropped the ball with the PS3, but even still; it won't hurt MS to try to get ahead into next gen. More cross development with PC using their newly acquired studios could help them lift them into a decent start. Remaining where they are right now could seriously harm the Xbox brand. The biggest issue I see is the will to spend the funds to try a head start, the Xbox division has been hanging more or less by a thread for some time from MS corporation centrally, and plenty of higher ups want to axe it and put focus elsewhere. 

I love this narrative change. It's pretty much the exact opposite as it is most weeks ("PS4 destroyed the Switch, because of Europe"). 

Their newly acquired studios arent likely to have new titles for the launch window of a 2019 release though.

inXile & Obsidian released both released games this year and both have multiplat titles coming next year.

Undead Labs, Playground & Compulsion all released games this year.

I don't see any of these studios having big titles ready for late 2019/early 2020.

Same goes for their other studios. Rare released a game this year, Turn 10 confirmed they are skipping next year, The Coalition has an XBO game next year.

That doesnt leave them with many options for games to release during the year headstart outside of ports and cross-gen titles which I dont think will be enough to gain take sales away from Sony.

It seems like a holiday 2020 release for the new Xbox fits better for their 1st party studios to get exclusive games out at launch and during the first year.

I love this narrative change. It's pretty much the exact opposite as it is most weeks ("PS4 destroyed the Switch, because of Europe"). 

That's fair, but I don't see much of an option if they want to avoid obscurity in the near future. Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 had pitiful launch titles, and even the PS4 and Xbox One had some pretty paltry offerings from the beginning. Remakes, multiplats and smaller 1st party fare dictated the start (Killzone is hardly a huge franchise, Knack was a flop, Flower was niche). AC IV: Black Flag, CoD: Ghosts and FIFA + Madden and Battefield 4 were the main hooks at launch, all of which were available on the previous/current gen as well.

My point is, most consoles have some pretty shit software, or decent shared software, to begin with. We all remember Lair (*shudders*) and Perfect Dark Zero as well. Cross-gen titles and remakes/remasters were pretty much all the PS4 and Xbox One at the start of their lives as well, the few exclusives did fairly poorly, like Ryse: Son of Rome and Beyond: Two Souls. 2014 was better, naturally, but not incredible by any measure. InFamous: Second Son did well, but the meat and potatoes for the PS4 that year was Destiny and a slew of multiplats and two very popular remasters (GTA V and TLoU). The Xbox One had Titanfall, which sold about on par with InFamous, a good outing from Destiny (shared with PS4, of course), an under performing Sunset Overdrive and then a slew of multiplats and some collections and remakes/remasters. Call of Duty, FIFA, Madden and the like were main driving forces for sales in most cases, along with re-release of GTA V, this is hardly a magical feat to copy for anyone in a console's first 12-15 months.

I agree with the sentiment that poor software won't help them that much in taking customers from Sony, but keeping on chugging with the Xbox One will net them even less influence, and that's more or less my entire point in all this. Besides, Sony has more or less blown their load with the PS4 and launched most of its heavy-hitters, launching a year ahead could make some difference in that it would put stress on Sony and make the PS4 seem like a fairly dull choice, especially in the Xbox' traditionally strongest markets. Having technically superior versions of multiplats helps a whole lot, the 360 was known for having better versions of multiplats, the PS4 has that reputation this gen, it makes a whole lot of difference if one party is left playing catch-up in this regard.

But hey, I could be talking out of my ass and be dead wrong. I'm open to that possibility, at the very least.  

Most weeks the PS4 does not have a global phenomenon such as Pokemon launching. Nor is it the week before a gigantic sale where you could get a PS4 + Spider-Man for $200.To treat this week as "most weeks" shows an almost hilarious lack of judgment.

That's fair, but I don't see much of an option if they want to avoid obscurity in the near future. Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 had pitiful launch titles, and even the PS4 and Xbox One had some pretty paltry offerings from the beginning. Remakes, multiplats and smaller 1st party fare dictated the start (Killzone is hardly a huge franchise, Knack was a flop, Flower was niche). AC IV: Black Flag, CoD: Ghosts and FIFA + Madden and Battefield 4 were the main hooks at launch, all of which were available on the previous/current gen as well.

My point is, most consoles have some pretty shit software, or decent shared software, to begin with. We all remember Lair (*shudders*) and Perfect Dark Zero as well. Cross-gen titles and remakes/remasters were pretty much all the PS4 and Xbox One at the start of their lives as well, the few exclusives did fairly poorly, like Ryse: Son of Rome and Beyond: Two Souls. 2014 was better, naturally, but not incredible by any measure. InFamous: Second Son did well, but the meat and potatoes for the PS4 that year was Destiny and a slew of multiplats and two very popular remasters (GTA V and TLoU). The Xbox One had Titanfall, which sold about on par with InFamous, a good outing from Destiny (shared with PS4, of course), an under performing Sunset Overdrive and then a slew of multiplats and some collections and remakes/remasters. Call of Duty, FIFA, Madden and the like were main driving forces for sales in most cases, along with re-release of GTA V, this is hardly a magical feat to copy for anyone in a console's first 12-15 months.

I agree with the sentiment that poor software won't help them that much in taking customers from Sony, but keeping on chugging with the Xbox One will net them even less influence, and that's more or less my entire point in all this. Besides, Sony has more or less blown their load with the PS4 and launched most of its heavy-hitters, launching a year ahead could make some difference in that it would put stress on Sony and make the PS4 seem like a fairly dull choice, especially in the Xbox' traditionally strongest markets. Having technically superior versions of multiplats helps a whole lot, the 360 was known for having better versions of multiplats, the PS4 has that reputation this gen, it makes a whole lot of difference if one party is left playing catch-up in this regard.

But hey, I could be talking out of my ass and be dead wrong. I'm open to that possibility, at the very least.