mainstream praise doesn't mean that the the system will be a smashing success; the wii got some negative press and turned out being the leader of the 7th gen, the PS3 was thought to be the front-runner this gen and fell flat on its face.
Every console thus far(Wii U and PS4) got praise or atleast attention from the media; it hasn't faired well for the Wii U atm and yet to to be seen of what will happen to both the PS4 and X1, the market where MS is drawing their attention is a finicky customer there not as loyal as the "core" gamers who will sit in a line for days to get their console or game.
Nintendo thought they had the causal gamer on lock and look what has happened to them; I believe that MS is trying to go for that same audience to an extent and I find it risky, I atleast think that Sony has the smartest tactic in mind as going to the hardcore/core gamer; though they might be few compared to the overall base atleast they're the most consistent when it comes to buying games; if you can build on that the "word of mouth" might spread in favor to them.
I believe the mainstream of the mainstream will also like feature a story down the road of "Parents upset the Xbox one needs to be connected one every 24 hours" or parents upset the Xbox 1(maybe PS4 as well) games rquire a hefty fee if bought used"
I think the biggest battle for MS is selling their multimedia box to those who already have said feature for their TV and other devices yes what the X1 can do is very impressive, but is it enoughtfor someone to go out and buy atleast a $400 device that has to be connected once every 24 hours and now pay a year subcription for those said features(Netflex/Hulu plus/ NFL pass/Internet Explorer)
