Lord N said:

First of all, the 360 hasn't done anywhere near as well this generation as is being suggested in this thread.

- Uhm.. Yes it has. Especially compared to last generation. That it's even able to compete with the playstation brand is a whole accomplishment on its own.

The 360 is in a distant, unprofitable second place with an insignificant lead over the 3rd place console. Oh yeah, that's exactly where it was last generation. It sells moderately well in North America, okay in Europe, and basically nothing in Japan. The only system that it's managed to outsell all generation is the PS3, which makes the 360 the second-worst selling system of the generation, a distant fourth behind the PSP.

- Lol.. So first, the PS3 is in third place, which means you don't count the handhelds, and suddenly, when talking about the X360, it's in 4th place and handhelds matter? Not really a sound argument there buddy. And, see a few lines above, why outselling the PS3 is a achievement in itself.

To be honest, the only reason it even has a lead over the PS3 is because it had a year headstart and because Sony fucked up so badly, and if the PS3 has poor sales, then it's really not a good idea to use it as a standard to measure the success of another system, including the 360. Hell, there were about 5.3 million 360's sold when the PS3 launched, so from that standpoint, the 360 has only sold about 200 000 more systems in the same time period.

- Again.. See my first argument. But in this case. Let's go further. The X360 is still keeping up with the PS3. You say Sony fucked up so badly? Tell me this. What can be a bigger blunder than the whole RROD fiasco? And even after the whole RROD AND E74 thing, the X360 is still holding strong. What would the X360 have been if the RROD-thing never happened? Hm? And what's the deal with the"if the PS3 has poor sales, then it's really not a good idea to use it as a standard to measure the success of another system" part? You mean we all must say the PS3 is successful even if it isn't? You crack me up. And remember, the Playstation name is a well known name, and the Xbox, not so much.. Well.. Now it is.. THAT's why it's measured as a success...

If you want to examine this further, look at software. The best-selling games of the generation are on the DS and the Wii. If you make a list starting with the best-selling game, 360 titles don't start to appear until about 17th or 18th on the list. For all of the 3rd party games that have been sold on the 360, it's still more profitable for devs to support the DS and the Wii.

- And now suddenly the DS matters.. Handhelds do not compete with home consoles.. And the Wii is a different audience, and we all know they're beating the crap of BOTH the X360 and the PS3. Anyway. The X360 has been consistently selling more software than the PS3. Basically every multi-plat sells more on the X360. There are a few exceptions, but those are really limited.. And then there's the exclusives.. High quality games like Uncharted 2 and supposedly KZ2, can't outsell the likes of Gears of War, let alone Halo. The X360 as a console is way more profitable than the PS3, both on hardware and on software. Therefore, MS is here to stay. And let's not talk about accessories..... Actually, let's talk about accessories. MS is selling more accessories than Nintendo, and gaining more money than Nintendo in that front =)

Simply put, the 360 appeals only to core and hardcore gamers. It simply doesn't have mass appeal. You can argue for Xbox Live all you want, but most gamers out there don't really care that much about online play. Only 50% of Xbox 360 owners even have a gold account.

- Are you saying the PS3 or PC has more appeal? I highly doubt that... And with Natal coming up, the X360 will largely broaden its audience... And the Wii is basically getting nothing but complaints from the hardcore crowd.. The X360 is balancing that out.. PS3, don't know, since the wand still seems to try and focus on hardcore gaming. Wii doesn't seem to be doing anything drastic to appeal to the hardcore gaming.. Seems like MS is trying to find balance, while the others are simply doing their thing... The X360 will have more mass appeal if this keeps up..

In regards to the topic, MS will release another system, but they'll probably be done after that.

- Sorry but... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

The only reason Microsoft even ventured into the market with the Xbox is because they saw the PlayStation as a threat to their OS monopoly.

- Can someone explain to me what the hell he's talking about?

Now that that threat is over, the market has rejected Sony's(and Microsoft's) convergence plans, and given the fact that MS still hasn't even achieved mass appeal or consistent profitability(even when aided by Sony's colossal mistakes), there really wouldn't be much more reason for them to keep making systems.

- Your reasoning doesn't make sense at all......

I've just read 5 or 6 posts that should have had mod warnings but then again its a free pass on this site to flame the 360 and its userbase I guess. 

The OP was quite clear this should be civil but there is just too many idiots on this site that don't have the common sense to not post if they have nothing to bring to a topic.  When the OP states keep civil then stfu and leave if you're a fanboy who must flame people imo.  I whole heartedly agree lestatdark that the thread has turned to crap because of a few trolls intent on spoiling what was a reasonable thread, even posts by those who said they wanted Microsoft to leave but at least did so in a reasonable manner.