Oh oh, I'm going to have to agree with Patcher here.
360 is still doing very well and MW3 shows that, despite the overall HW/SW slump in the industry the 360 can continue to sell strongly and support huge games sales.
My view is:
1) it is not MS's problem overall sales are down - that's down to the drop in Wii and Nintendo SW sales. MS has no obligation to release a new console to try and fill a gap left by a competitor.
2) MS doesn't need a new console to compete or remain relevant. The 360 and PS3 still define HD gaming and the Wii U is both an unknown and I suspect a fairly minimal threat. I don't see the millions on Live/360 switching to Wii U for CoD or Halo or online gaming anytime soon (ditto for PSN/PS3 owners as an aside)
3) A new console wouldn't help MS grow against PS3. MS is doing well in the Western market. It's in more diverse, less online mature markets that its struggling vs PS3. A new, more expensive model with even more sophisticated online requirements is no help in these regions IMHO and if anything would hurt MS growth outside US/UK and Europe and gift Sony/PS3 with more growth in those markets
4) while there is a hardcore on 360 who do want new console they are unlikely to jump ship for Sony/Nintendo anyway and will wait with MS. They want even bigger, better Gears, Halo, etc. and won't jump ship.
Personally I see little gain for MS in the big picture releasing a new console anytime soon. They are doing well and are in a relatively unthreatened position in their key markets. I expect MS to consolidate and entrench in all markets they can before releasing a new console Q4 2013 to launch with a holiday spike with Halo 5 and possibly a new Gears coming during 2014.
Try to be reasonable... its easier than you think...
