Well, let's first make the assumption that Microsoft is paying attention, that they've heard the developers who have come out with complaints about how indie games are handled on Live. They can't make the same mistakes again, that's not how Microsoft got to the top of the mountain, and I don't believe they will. I have no doubt they will do better next gen.
Now, that being said, the benefits of Sony announcing the PS4 early are starting to pay off. Positive news is swirling all around and it can't help but sift into the minds of developers. The people Sony has hired to work with smaller studios appear to be working extremely hard and, judging from what I've seen thus far, it's paying off. PSN, the PS4, and even the Vita are all gathering momentum with those who make games, which is an important group indeed.
As I said, I think Microsoft will have their act together, but what Sony is doing now might amount to a kind of "indie head start", which is exactly what the 360 enjoyed this gen. I don't think that will result in a huge number of straight exclusives, but I do think we'll see more timed exclusives go to PSN, both contracted and virtual--the latter being games where the developer simply chooses to create the PSN version first before moving on to a Live version.
While this probably won't be a huge deal by itself, everything does add up. If competition between consoles is a war, then games are the ammunition. I don't think anyone can deny that having more bullets than your opponents can only be a positive thing.
