MS has had a much higher and steeper hill to climb due to their own decisions mostly, and they've steadily been making their way up, so the fact that they have improved more isn't so much unexpected, but expected and necessary. I personally don't like the fact that after so much work to the XB1 platform, that they've just recently made the move for more first party titles, but at least they did it, so I can give them that. Another brick put back in the wall of defense against PS for the moment.
As for PS4's momentum in terms of upgrading and expanding it's existing ecosystem, it seems like PS is planning to stick to generational changes as much as possible, where MS wants to merge them all and have a constant flow. Depends on what you prefer and want in a platforms overall ecosystem. I do wonder if there is any behind the scenes logic to letting PS4 coast for the rest of the gen. If you pay attention to Nvidia's brand new RTX cards, the hype really isn't there because there isn't enough of a leap happening, as far as we know right now anyway. Same with Apple's new iPhones. I get the feeling this is actually seen as a problem by some gamers when it comes to XB1. It's always being slightly updated and upgraded, and while some items may be substantial, nothing really seems truly groundbreaking because of it. This could in theory make PS5 seem like a bigger deal then it may turn out to be potentially, a leap of sorts instead of many steps, and when PS4 seems to be bulletproof, well why not then?
Everybody has their own tastes and expectations, and if the XB platform and ecosystem is filling those needs for you, then that's great. The point of gaming is to he happy and entertained, so if XB is "the One" that does it for you, pun intended, then enjoy yourself. Having all the platforms you want anyway also makes it much easier, so you can still have your cake and eat it too basically. Nothing wrong with playing both sides instead of both sides playing you.
Hopefully for this threads sake PS doesn't announce their expanding the OS and hardware (beyond home console) come PS5, but you never know. XB could too though so who really knows right? So many choices, so little time.
PS1 - ! - We must build a console that can alert our enemies.
PS2 - @- We must build a console that offers online living room gaming.
PS3 - #- We must build a console that’s powerful, social, costs and does everything.
PS4 - $- We must build a console that’s affordable, charges for services, and pumps out exclusives.
PRO -%-We must build a console that's VR ready, checkerboard upscales, and sells but a fraction of the money printer.
PS5 - ^ -We must build a console that’s a generational cross product, with RT lighting, and price hiking.
PRO -&- We must build a console that Super Res upscales and continues the cost increases.
