For users of their gaming consoles they delivered:
- Fantastic new ip's
- Great controller
- kinect
- insanely good online services
- amazing looking games without the need to get a gaming pc
- vision and innovation ( digital distribution, cloud services )
- insane game library

For non users they delivered:
- Competition
- Pushing first parties to deliver
- new ideas to copy and to be implemented

So be happy with their presence!

They also brought in the new age of FPS popularity, something that Ive hated all gen. Sure its ok to have FPS games but when every second game I look at is in First Person it frustrates the hell out of me

Kinect, tried and was very dissapointed. But the new Kinect seems a lot better so when I try that later this year maybe my opinion will change.

Great controller, arguable. While I believe it is perfectly fine I would prefer a Dualshock.

Insanely good looking games without a PC... Sony also do that. And Nintendo even with the Wii's specs delivered beautiful games.

Anyway Im done being pessimistic. Nothing against MS, they just don't entertain me

I was also a user of their console up until 2009, I then stopped using because the exclusives dried out and became a repetitive cycle of Halo, Gears and Forza, I'm not into XBLA as I have Steam which those games also come out on and far more cheaper. I fail to see what fantastic new IP they introduced in the last 3-4 years on the 360.

I do however agree that competition is good.

i realized this was a joke thread when i read that users should be thankful for kinect.

You sir have perfect timing :D

1st parties would have delivered regardless..

I will thank them for creating the Achievement

with that being said, you can still fully hate a company for other things that they do

give credit where credit is due and give hate where hate is due

there will be none of this blind "my company can do no wrong and everyone is just picking on them" bullshit

Well if your really insist, I will send Microsoft an email thanking them for all their hard work.

Be thankful for the Kinect? Nah

Eh, i think nintendo is probably more to blame for making fps games popular with goldeneye.  

Wasn't Rare the one who made the game? Besides, while Golden Eye was very popular it didn't influence the market as much as Call of Duty. I mean Golden Eye did 7 million which is awesome but Call of Duty manages to do 20 million for each installment. Also Halo helped popularize the genre. I don't think it's Nintendo's fault at all xD.