It's competition, we need Xbox.

What about EA Play then

I think we need 3 consoles, especially when Nintendo isn't trying to compete with Sony on specs and graphics. That doesn't mean if Microsoft dropped out and became third party, that someone else wouldn't enter the market like Apple, IBM, HP, or Google or Amazon takes a more traditional console chance. If someone else comes out with a major console I don't want to see 4 consoles directly competing where first party games get too fragmented. I do wish both Sony and Microsoft would call a truce and stop buying up companies for the rest of this generations and see where the cards fall after 7 years of exclusives from each companies new developers.

No. Less options and higher prices are better.

Honesty, we don't `need` Xbox.

However, you have to appreciate what their being here does. Their being here keeps Sony in one and focused and forces them to innovate. Without them doesn't mean the things Sony has done wouldn't happen, but it does mean they could happen much sower.

It's easy to always look in hindsight and say we don't need them, but I doubt we would like the version of Sony we would have without them. Think new consoles launching every 10 years and with a launch price of $1000.

I don't think people realize how bad it'll be if either Xbox or PS left

We dont need this xbox , we need xbox era xbox and 360 era xbox , not this shit they been pulling lately.

A clone machine of the Playstation? No.
An original console with its own appeal? Absolutely.

Competition is what drives innovation. It is also beneficial for customers, regardless of their favorite brand.

IMHO,
We need Xbox to put Playstation in check.
MS needs Xbox for their "cloud gaming future".

MS Azure is one of the 3 biggest and most advanced cloud providers in the world, at the same time, they are the only tech giant with a strong line of first party of video game Studios and IPs.
Xbox is here to stay, It's a gigantic advantage of MS in the cloud game market, but... This is not enough.

Xbox needs to beat Playstation, or at least become Playstation equal, not because of Sony, but because of the possibility of another big tech buying/joining forces with Playstation/Nintendo.
Just think about this possibility... Cloud gaming becomes the norm, Xbox becomes king because of Azure, while Playstation/Nintendo lags behind. Amazon or Google steps in, makes a irresistible offer and now Playstation/Nintendo have a big tech on their corner. Xbox money and Azure advantage are now gone. All that matter now is the content. Is Xbox better than Playstation/Nintendo at making games or capturing public mindshare? No? Yup, forever number 3 then.
Xbox can't become 3° party under Sony. They need to do better and Win!

Innovation sure, but prices?, I dunno, we've seen prices going up with time this gen.

As for the range of choices, you get a digital PS5 or a PS5 with a disc reader and a weaker Xbox and a "high end" xbox, but you're still going to be using the perf/quality modes either way, which still leads you to the same path from the fork in the road. 

I feel like some here only want Xbox to remain because it somehow makes Sony's side look good, not because of what Sony did themselves. 

This makes me actually want Xbox to leave, just to see which holds true. Even if they were to leave, you as customers can simply vote with your wallets and not buy the next PS system or Nintendo one, if they get too complacent. 

I also don't think we should want a competitor to remain, if we never truly cared for what they were selling to begin with, it kind of reads as fake competition, when you're in it for only one player in the game, and no one else. 

Like I'll be honest, I loved my 360, but after that gen, that was it for me and Xbox, and has been that way since. Them going the way of the dodo on the console side wouldn't really do much for me (especially since all I ever liked from MS was what they had already made before Xbox, like AoE for example).

This gen so far hasn't really done much for Xbox fans in terms of quality content, I mean going by general reception and sales, it doesn't look as bright (especially with the cancelled projects, staff and leads leaving, etc). I fail to see how Xbox's current gen is somehow a heavy driving factor into making Sony so much better by comparison, when Sony just aren't doing what MS is doing (Like not screwing up, not cancelling projects left and right).