personal opinion..
xbox isn't core to their business, but one would think it's an integral component to their core business. from what it sounds/seems like, the xbox brand itself could be more marketable and profitable as something else other than as a console, for instance say if "xbox" shifted over to something like a mobile gaming platform/service for MS phones, tablets, windows, etc. that completely utilizes their cloud infrastructure. That could help drive up sales and market share for their core businesses more so than continue wasting/losing billions into a console market where they hardly profit enough to recoup costs. If the xbox console wasn't owned by MS, anyone seriously think the plug wouldn't of been pulled already? the brand itself is worth more than the product at this point.
If the focus of MS are shifted to mainly mobile-first and cloud-first from the present onward, then i doubt MS will ever release another physical xbox console. xbox of the future could likely be a gaming service.
Man.. I hate it when your girl has to leave my place to come back to you..
