With all the advantages removed it always felt like Sony had the edge, but the debacle of 2013 E3 pretty much conceded the first year to the PS4. X1 can recover, but to answer your question, no, I do not see a route for Xbox to get to first place this generation.
I stated Sony's goal should be 1:1 in NA, 2:1 in EU and 10:1 in JP. Taking away NA as Sony have done leaves Microsoft nowhere to make up ground. Europe looks to be even more decisive this time around, and while Japan may be closer than 10:1, the market looks to shrink so even if it ends up 8:1 still not many consoles sold.
The major difference for Sony and Microsoft is Sony needs PlayStation, now more than ever, to remain viable. Microsoft looks at Xbox same way you may view paltry interest payments on your bank account, nice but nothing to really be concerned about.
I just do not see Microsoft willing to lose money heavily this generation to subsidize and create a playing field where they could be first. They seem perfectly content to turn a profit and finish second.
