The place the Xbox finishes is irrelevant to their entertainment division. Sure, they would like to finish first, as would everyone.
I'm sure MS is perfectly happy sitting on a 360 that is turning a profit and is poised to sell up to 80% over its predecessor. Sure, it will finish in third place but I guarantee you that MS will take that market gain and profit over a second place finish and $5b in losses.
You need to stop looking at this like a consumer/fan and realize what MS is doing and why the Entertainment division is showing signs of longterm viability as a result.
Or check out my new webcomic: http://selfcentent.com/