At the end of the day, do you consider Microsoft's 8th gen console to be a success, and why/why not?

8th Gen?

Xbox - Gen 1

Xbox 360 - Gen 2

Xbox One - Gen 3?

Not a success because it didn't come close to XB 360 unit sales. Software aside, XB1 needed to get much closer to XB 360 hardware to be considered successful based on their future roadmap for that gen.

Not a complete failure either. Somewhat similar to the PS3, XB1 made a reasonable comeback, though screwed themselves much worse early on.

XB1 and PS3 were pothole consoles. A deep bump in the road that required an on the spot tire change, asap.

Beware of the curse of the 3rd gen they say...

It kept its fans happy, but it didn’t take any from Sony. I heard it’s gamepass revenue was pretty good. Xbox One made inroads onto PC. It’s expansion wasn’t stellar in terms of consoles moved, but is that really everything in a race?

Ultimately it continued to get all the 3rd party support. It’s first party line up grew massively. Growth is success right?

Compared to x360,no.
Compared to ps4,no
Compared to wiiu.yea

Sales dropped from 80m to 50m, they lost their dominance in USA gaming, franchises like halo lost prestige and the xbox brand as a whole declined. No it wasn't what I'd call a success for Microsoft. They were in a much better position pre-xbo launch than after it, they are recovering nicely now.

I think both options “Yes” and “No” are too strong as such. It was kind of “okay”. Sales at the end of the day while not great also aren’t embarrassing. However compared to the 360 it was obviously a step down. I don’t know how much profit it made, maybe that’s decent enough, but I imagine Microsoft would’ve liked better sales.

no, X1 is a failure, not "Wii U" failure, but a failure.
Imean, even MS kind of admitted that fact:
https://www.vgchartz.com/article/446232/phil-spencer-microsoft-nearly-gave-up-on-xbox-after-xbox-one-launch/

No. XBO is the reason why MS bought so many studios. XBO was just known for canceled games and mediocre exclusives. I have seen consoles with more memorable exclusives with a fraction of the sales XBO had. Wii U had more memorable exclusives. XBO seemed redundant and mostly useless. I won't get into the politics of sales as it's not as cut and dry as it seems. People still talk about consoles from decades past but I don't think XBO will be. Just kinda oh yeah that other console next to PS4.

Not everything has to be a success or failure, XBO fits in the middle somewhere IMO. Yeah it definitely had a slew of missteps, but selling 50m and still managing to be somewhat competitive in the US, it could've been far worse. Considering all the backlash (rightfully deserved btw) and the generally lackluster lineup of games through out the generation, it's honestly kinda impressive.