I'd call it an awful generation.  They are losing third party games left and right (Titanfall for starters), their developers are rehashing old games rather than making new games (The Last Of Us).  Their list of games is painfully small considering they are winning the generation.  Their also slow on the console updates, there was another thread that showed PS4 is woefully behind in adding support for various features.  

When they are winning, they have no incentive to "try". They can roll out a couple meaningful firmware updates a year, take a couple years to truly start releasing their best exclusives, overcharge for PS Now, introduce the multiplayer paywall, and now deciding FOR their customers by refusing options from EA.........and they will be loved for it.

I know this because the thrill/high of "selling more" compensated for any corporate laziness I lived through in gen 7. What did I care so long as PS3 was last place right? The 360 games played better, more fun was had, just from the knowledge that someone else was in last place.

Now the tables are turned. PS fans couldn't care less how complacent Sony gets. They are #1 and that's all that matters right?

fair enough now how does your post address

"either one of them could reciprocate that investment a lot better than Sony can"

considering that microsoft has a weaker console at the same price and nintendo hasn't really supported the wii u any better than sony or microsoft have supported their consoles in the same timespan ( which feeds into a bigger problem of overall game support since they have failed at garnering third party support )

if nintendo wanted more 3rd party support they could buy it as you've pointed out compared to sony they are in a great position financially but obviously that isn't changing anything and the same goes for microsoft from the hardware perspective

edit: "Not just rehashes of old games either, original franchises that pushed the boundaries of their genre (ZombiU, Lego City, Wonderful 101), they also paid for sequels to games which were all but dead (Bayonetta 2)  "

lol what is the point that is being made here? that sony is only funding rehashes of old games? while nintendo is the last source of originality in video games? ZombiU, Lego City, Wonderful 101 pushed the boundaries of their genre? 

lol usually i'd try to address points with counterpoints but at this point i don't really believe you're being serious lol

You need to summarize your arguments shorter.  I don't have the patience to read that many arguments which are pretty much "agree to disagree".  

The third party problems aren't because of the hardware.  Upscaling is hard, downscaling is easy.  Developers are making a bigger issue out of that than they should be.  The real reason is simply that Nintendo doesn't have a receptive audience for most third party games.  It's easier to blame it on Nintendo's hardware than to admit they can't tap the audience.  

Third parties actually have no choice but to go out of their way customizing their games from scratch to try and draw in the Nintendo crowd.  That's a plus if anything not a minus.  Take "The Last of Us: Remastered" for instance.  The changes from the previous console are pretty much cosmetic with a few bells and whistles thrown on.  However, a third party game redone for the Wii U usually has dramatic changes to it.  Even if it's just a port, the added gamepad functionality alone is usually pretty impressive.  

My initial argument was that fans would get more for their money if they supported Nintendo or Microsoft this generation.  That still stands.  I've given you half a dozen angles from which Sony has failed to capitalize on.  I've shown you that the other two are amped and ready to move in with huge results.  I stand by my argument that Sony is a dead horse who's crawling in the lead because fans are making up the slack.  

If sony is dead, then I definitely dont know "the state" MS or Nintendo is in right now. lol

Fans are making up the slack? how exactly? by buying their console? 

isnt that the only way fan can vote for their prefered console?

sounds like you are very bitter....and I see you on a lot of Sony-hate thread....

And I pointed out that when Microsoft WAS on top in the U.S. with the 360, their 'Giving Back' involved focusing all their love on the Kinect 1 games to try and get you to buy THAT too, and spending zilch effort on new IPs or innovative titles that weren't Forza/Halo/Gears/Fable, unless you want to count a few PC ports. And this was for over three years. If Sony's a dead horse, Microsoft's a lazy one with a Scrooge hat firmly in place. O.o Sure, one might try to make the argument that 'Things will be different this generation!', they could even argue that if Microsoft is finally done chasing the Kinect dream they might not sink money into making games for it anymore, but the fact remains, it's still something Microsoft actually needs to prove.

History just doesn't back them up as 'delivering' when it comes to exclusive content, because when they were on top, they treaded water, which really hasn't helped them maintain an image as a publisher interested in new and exciting properties.

Sony isn't dead, it's on life support.  Even now analysts still think its 50-50 that Sony just up and declares bankruptcy or sells everything in the next couple of years.  That atmosphere is bad for the consumer.  It's better to just let it go at that point.    

I'm bitter because I have to deal with bad and redundant arguments for this stuff.  For starters, everything you asked about, you should be able to answer yourself from the previous posts.