Ugh, this is terrible. You are both right! The sour Nvidia deal created a situation that would make it appealing to launch new hardware for Microsoft, but since Sony had a strong marketshare lead in the industry Microsoft would find it difficult to launch side by side or after the PS3. In a sense, though I wouldn't use this term, they were afraid of Sony. I would call it, wanting to ensure the best possible environment for their product and launching early would maintain momentum from the Halo craze and allow them to sell their hardware without competition.
An early launch was the best option for them hands down. The RRoD fiasco was a hiccup in this plan, but they managed to hold their own not fall apart themselves.
Seriously, just because A is valid doesn't mean B isn't.
Before the PS3 everyone was nice to me :(
