I'm a bit older so take my statement for what its worth but:
Microsoft hasn't had a coherent, X-Box centric strategy since, basically, the Xbox 360. When they had the online-only debacle when the XBO was announced, that was, I think the key moment that resulted in continual decline because their strategy was value extraction, not console gaming.
Although being online is the core component of every system now, the real backbone are the games/exclusives that come out. In the Xbox 360 days, Microsoft made massive headway with that, partnering and purchasing many companies. Now? They did buy Bethsaida which is a huge get as of late, but other than that, the release schedule has been extremely anemic, and they aren't really a company known to develop the developers. Whereas Sony and Nintendo have had a much better track record on that for a very, very long time.
When Sony made its huge PS3 pricing blunder, Microsoft at that time took advantage. Since then, they really haven't been able to move the needle in basically a decade. Nintendo made huge strides by doing what it should to win: Making their console a handheld, which was always dominant against the long-forgotten Vita and other handhelds (and also a signal the mobile market was becoming a huge, emergent sector of gaming).
So now, Microsoft sits in a place that really doesn't give you much. Their online systems are great, which for some people is a very important thing. But when it just comes to game depth and volume, it really cannot comapre. And until Bethsaida can really churn out some huge, epic, console-defining games that could hold a candle to Sony, they're just going to keep languishing as the also-ran in the console wars. They're doing well from what I see on P&L statements so the sector makes sense for now, but its just something that is part of Microsoft, its not what Microsoft *is* and that's not really the case for Sony, and sure as heck isn't for Nintendo.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
