I want them to stay in the business, I bought a xbo earlier than I said I would when I got the chance, I want consoles to succeed. Sony would be so damn complacent right now with out MS right behind them.

I do not want to see the xbox name sold to a shitastic mobile company. Anything could happen in the business world.

Lets put it this way.. There more /bigger shareholders that want to split Sony than there are that want to axe Xbox division... Then you have to take into account... That as much as we want and ms too want to be first in sales... This is not the prime directive... Net profits are... And no matter how far behind MS is from Sony right now.. Xb1 is more profitable than any Xbox before it and it didn't release globally yet...
if being first was more relevant than profit apple would have pulled the plug or cut their prices half a decade ago...
ms has plenty of cards yet to play with their media hub, and even more with their entire ecosystem... So far we have seen nothing...
and finally if Zune is any example the Xbox division has still a long way to go without worry... Sure they can pull the plug... But at this point it would make absolutely no sens beside reassuring low risk taker investors....which once again are far from the majority...

They are doing overall better than what Xbox 360 did globally, they should pull the plug.

I think the only real possibility would be a Wii to Wii U like collapse leading to the project making losses again.

Its not gonna happen though, because Xbox One will have continued support not just from MS, but from the majority of 3rd party publishers. Its gonna be pushing 40m minimum lifetime, and thats still a lot of Xbox Live Gold subs and software sales.

Xbox as a brand is here to stay.

the one thing that does not work is premature console releases.

No, they wouldn't.

Sure, if things went poorly. MS doesn't need Xbox. And the fact is the threat they perceived with consoles that got them into the market in the first place is well and truly gone. It's all about tablets and mobile. So in some ways Xbox is a distraction to the MS grand plan for global domination of the home environment. MS used to think Sony was threatening to achieve this with gaming consoles, but consoles are no longer where dominance of the home environment will be achieved. MS seems to be trying to make Xb one to be that hub device for the home, but people don't seem to be buying into it right now. So if the masses of people have rejected the notion of the gaming console being a hub device, doesn't that strategically it's better for MS to focus in other areas and not run a console business.

I disagree while agree... Tablets and all you said is true... But a true media hub is the future of home entertainment on the long run... One day we'll have one box at home plugged in the central system of the house and a bunch of terminals connecting through it... TV, phones, tablets, PCs and pretty much all apliances... So yeah Xbox might die... But the concept of a house hub is far from dead and certainly not something ms can do without...

It would happen only when M$ windows is is not performing well whiles the x1 performs poorly. Let's hope it doesn't happen, the xbox has not ruined our experience.

As much as I like seeing Sony on top. MS is still in this and will be successful. One good price drop will change the landscape in the US.