Home console.  Wasnt talking about handhelds.  That is why we are talking about PS4, NeXboxm and the WiiU, not the Vita and 3DS

If sony price the PS4 at a decent price point from the start, it will beat the new xbox. Otherwise, it will be another very close generation ahead

stupid double post!

Oh where to begin...

1.)  One Direction is the name of a band, not the path a multifaceted company should move.   You believe consoles should be exclusive to the core gaming domain, and that belief is so substantially outdated that it will become buried under its own weight of haughtiness.  The age of console gaming being the sole realm of the core gamer is passing.  The future of the console is an expanded one that will encompass not only core gamers and casual gamers, but digital content and media consumers as well.  In addition, in order to enter the Chinese market Microsoft will have to offer a device that goes beyond gaming.

2.)  Xbox LIVE is a self-sustaining service, unlike PSN and Nintendo's service.  PSN and Nintendo's online service are subsidized services.  While I don't necessarily disagree that Microsoft could make Xbox LIVE more attractive, they are actually in an easier position of being able to do that.  Between the Xbox and Xbox 360 Microsoft altered the Xbox LIVE service offerings.  It'll likely do the same when Xbox 8 bows.  However, I'm certain that whatever they do will be to build value rather than give the service away.  It doesn't mean that they can't or won't give away features for free, but the intention of giving away something for free is that it generates revenue.

3.)  It is better to have a few successful exclusives than a lot of poorly selling ones.  That aside, how do you divine how many exclusives Microsoft has on the table?  A list someone generated based on press releases?  That may not necessarily tell a complete story.

4.)  Which would you rather pick up?  A penny or a pound?  Japan is a small market.  Europe will be Microsoft's next big target.  Even in these troubled economic times, Europe offers a better region to put its efforts into than Japan.  Not only that, but by building up its service capabilities in Europe for Xbox LIVE, it greatly improves its ability to offer PC, tablet, and mobile users services. 

5.)  There are two types of race car drivers, a live one and a dead one.  The difference is that the one that's alive knows where his adversaries are.  The dead one lost sight of his adversary and either crashed into him or was forced into a crash by him.  You can look forward into the direction you want to head, while still keeping an eye on the competition.  The problem is you're too focused on Kinect that you believe that Kinect gaming is Microsoft's sole direction.  It isn't.

While I'm sure Kinect will see some significant improvements in the future that will make it more accurate, the fact is that its sole purpose in the next generation will not be gaming.  As with the Xbox 8 console itself, Microsoft will employ a multifaceted approach.  Kinect is poised to be central in Microsoft's telecommunications aims, as well with it's 3D projection technology.  More than likely you'll see other advances, such as the ability to use sign language and have it be read by Kinect and translated on screen (very specific patents covering those capabilities have been awarded to Microsoft). 

I'm sure from a position of ignorance, it appears that Microsoft is focused on what you believe they are focused on.  The fact is, they're a big company and they have broad focus.  They are quite capable of working on many things at once and successfully executing on those fronts.  Is it possible that they could fail on a multi-front approach, sure.  Sony stumbled out of the gate trying a multi-front approach but Sony bet hard with hardware and ended up losing big on that hardware.  Evidenced by the need to make the PS3 as cheap as possible, and the abandonment of the Cell processor.

What you hear reported and what is the truth of the situation are two different things.  The current issue is a yields problem as a result of the manufacturing process.  A process which apparently will also impact the ICs AMD is producing for Sony.  So, the delay that Microsoft is experiencing affects Sony just the same.  It isn't a Microsoft engineering/design problem, it's the ability for AMD to produce a 28nm IC.   No small feat.  A yield problem wouldn't result in the same problems as experienced with the RRoD. 

The RRoD was an engineering problem in the design of the PC board, solder, and heat sink/clamp.  A thin PC board that easily warped under heat was used in concert with a solder that wasn't designed for the temperatures experienced and a heat sink whose clamp didn't secure it tight enough to the P board, allowing the GPU to develop cold solder joints or become completely disconnected from the PC board. 

A yield problem is typically seen immediately in IC testing, where as the RRoD was one that developed under specific circumstances and or over a period of time and use.  Yield problems can hold up the entire process.  The RRoD, unless you knew that it would specifically happen 100% of the time in a series of specific steps, would not hold up the manufacturing process.

To put it another way.  If you have a yield problem and you produce 100 main boards, you achieve only a yield of 10%.  10 out of the 100 are good because an IC some where failed.  Conversely, with the RRoD out of the 1000 main boards, they might have had a yield of 99.99%.  One console may have failed, but in the majority are working perfectly.

The problem with a yield problem is you can't create large supplies of inventory.  Where as at this point Microsoft likely wanted to get the ICs into production, at a fairly fast pace, they're now having to move much slower.  Hence why it was suggested they would perform a soft launch.  The likely were planning a world-wide launch but instead will spread the launch out into the three main markets.  USA, Europe, then Japan.

Nevertheless, not the same.  They aren't rushing anything to anywhere.  They're working with what they get until AMD can get their process working properly.   

Microsoft has this bad habit of releasing their products when they're not ready. Windows XP, Windows Vista (that never became a finished product) and the X360. And guess what? Yes, they're still doing it. Windows 8.

So I wouldn't doubt that they're going to release yet another unfinished product. They've done it for years and still are...

I was going to reply to the OP but then I saw this post which says everything I wanted to say and more.

Excellent post mrstickball

Well for starters LOL @ that list. If you read through the thread you linked plenty of people trash it and for good reason. But even if you want to take the list at face value, it's common knowledge that MS announces games at E3. There will be more than Gears at retail from them. Also, the list completely ignores XBLA, which is where MS really dominates Sony and Nintendo. Lastly we all know the next Xbox is coming in 2013 so why would there be a slew of MS retail titles on the list?

Also, seems strange to say "well MS is ignoring gamers!!" yet on the list you linked, only one console has every single 3rd party game on the list and it's the 360. So apparently MS is ignoring gamers by making sure they have tons of games to play :(

Whoever comes out first, has a decent amount of quality games with new and recognizable IPs at launch, and shows a convincing promise of steady influx of games to come will sell well at first. Microsoft did that last time, but I fear their success is their biggest enemy at the moment. Allow me to explain. In the last couple years Microsoft's approach to the console market has been very risk adverse. They have stuck with proven IPs and see very little potential in new worlds and experiences. Its is very clear they believe that they do not have to pump out first party games because third party games will sell their system. That is true in this generation, but i find it extremely foolish if they think the story will repeat itself next time.

Sure they have invested in new studios, but who are they and what have they done? have they proven themselves? are they going to be retail games or downloadable games? I doubt microsoft will just give them all the resources they need to fully implement their visions, let alone execute them. Halo is microsoft's Mario, and that my friends is double edge sword.

Let's say that they do start making games again because its the beginning of a new generation, but does that mean they will stop at the end as they did with this one? Well that makes sense for their bottom line, but why fuck should i invest on a system that will get less support as it gets older?

1. They have no clear path
-No, MS just hasn't told you what they plan yet.

2. Xbox live gold
-Hasn't hurt them yet.

3. Lack of dedicated exclusives
-Halo is an island onto itself. But all signs point to many new IPs from new 1st party devs next gen

4. 360 2 + japan = dead on arrival
-Japan stopped being relevant and it's too small of a market to matter.

5. They focus too much on the competition
-It worked with the Xbox 360.