Praise seems a... strong word. o.O
Is it good that they did all this stuff? Yeah, sure! =D
But praise usually should be reserved either for something that is genuinely altruistic, (which neither company is likely to provide,) or at least something that's unexpected, pleasantly creative, and adds positivity instead of simply cancelling out negativity. A lot of what Microsoft did was, well, remove negatives... which is great, sure, but when it comes to praise, better instead to introduce something that adds to the strengths of the platform, rather than just removing its weaknesses. The policy reversal, Kinect unbundling, loosening of paywall restrictions, re-jiggering of insane indie publishing policies, all of that is GOOD, but it's fixing problems that Microsoft created in the first place. =P Even pricing deals, free games, etc, are just lessening that universal negative point; price of entry.
What Microsoft might need to do is create something a little more unusual, a new initiative or program that's all their own, one that sets the platform apart and makes it more attractive. Even Sony's PS+ during the PS3 era was a pretty interesting way not just to add value to the platform, but also to try and encourage more digital transactions by getting people accustomed to the idea of having digital copies of titles. Even if you never took advantage of a single PS+ discount on the Store, the free games alone means you'd be used to the whole No-Disc-Games shindig, and increase the chances you'd use that store more frequently. Even if you only had the subscription and never bought a game, you'd accumulate new content, some of it quite sizable, making the very act of owning the platform desirable. Got to say, I hear more praise about PS+ than I do about Sony price dropping the console. xP
Ironically, the old Xbox One policies could have been that... Microsoft's catastrophic failure was not making it an opt-in program, thus coaxing users to it, and instead deciding to just make it a blanket policy. That was an abysmal mistake.
(EA Access, in this case, doesn't count; it'd need to be something Sony couldn't simply add to their roster if it got popular enough. Given the program is also available in Europe, there's virtually no chance EA will refuse a chance to get on the platform that leads that region, if the opportunity arises.)
Zanten, Doer Of The Things
Unless He Forgets In Which Case Zanten, Forgetter Of The Things
Or He Procrascinates, In Which Case Zanten, Doer Of The Things Later
Or It Involves Moving Furniture, in Which Case Zanten, F*** You.
