A new generation provides the chance for a proper reset of more than the sales units alone. Sacrificing the tail end of a generation in order to build towards the next generation is a tradeoff where a console manufacturer takes some small additional damage to an already lost generation in exchange for a potentially big payoff in the following generation. A recent example of this is the Wii U to Switch transition where Wii U's 2016 had few first party releases and no high profile ones, but in turn Switch's 2017 was just about the strongest first year lineup a console has ever had and that laid the foundation for a runaway success story.

Now it's important to mention that Nintendo used the reset to overhaul their image, the first step being a different branding for the console itself, because that instantly tells the market that the new console is different than what came before it. The repeated error that Microsoft has made is that they stick with the Xbox name, so consumers' perception and expectations carry over from one generation to the next. The Xbox name is good in the USA and the UK, but it's detrimental mostly everywhere else. It's a situation where Microsoft is too afraid to give up a benefit in a couple of countries for the chance to do better globally. While Scarlett has yet to get its final name, it's likely that it will be another Xbox and that will shove them in the same corner of a dominant USA and UK share of their total sales again. Their total sales may very well increase if they execute without any big errors, but when it comes to the question if the console can sell 100m+ units, it's easy to conclude that that is very, very improbable without a more balanced distribution of global sales.

Since the Xbox One was a series of blunders leading up to its launch and beyond, the bar is set very low for Microsoft to do better with Scarlett. It will be first and foremost a question of how much better and a lot of that also depends on what Sony does with the PS5. It won't be until this time next year that the information is out, so there's not any more I have to say on this topic.

WTF? I never said that! I said that their plan was to sell software from the get-go. They just found out, that they don't need their own console to do so effectively, and the original plan of pushing DirectX didn't work this gen at all, just look how many new AAA PC releases are not DirectX 12 titles even though it's mandated on their own console.

About your first paragraph: Again, it's just because they want to sell software. They are the opposite of Nintendo in that regard: Microsoft produces hardware to sell software, while Nintendo produces games to sell hardware.

Microsoft could have sold quite a bit better if they kept all their IP for themselves. Just imagine how well the XBO could have sold in Japan if they just kept Minecraft exclusive for them. Hellblade and Cuphead are on the Switch already for some time now, and Crash Bandicoot is coming to Smash. They are also opening up to other platforms on PC, not just on consoles. You no longer have to buy the games in Microsofts store, you can get them on Steam and GOG (not using Epic, so not sure about there), too.

In short, they want to make their games accessible to absolutely everyone and not just those with an Xbox live account (you need one to shop in their store on PC). Why? Because they are in the business to sell software, and being on all platforms guarantees, that more people could buy their games.

If they call it Xbox anything, the console will be automatically associated with previous Xbox consoles. Usually it's associated with the most recent one and recent years because the memory is still fresh. In Japan the Xbox name has the reputation of redundancy. It's similar in mainland Europe where gamers prefer to stick to their PCs, so Microsoft's initiative to support Xbox and PC equally won't help matters. For those who want a console, PS is the prefered option because that style of games has established itself before the arrival of the original Xbox and the only way to break that up for Xbox is to be a significantly superior alternative to PS, hence why the 360 managed to do reasonably well in mainland Europe unlike other Xbox consoles.

If Microsoft calls their next console Xbox, they'll have to hope for Sony making mistakes with the PS5, otherwise their situation in mainland Europe won't improve due to the association and perception the Xbox brand has. "Same old Xbox" won't cut it.