Consider:
A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with such a devastating cost that it is tantamount to defeat. Someone who wins a Pyrrhic victory has been victorious in some way; however, the heavy toll negates any sense of achievement or profit (another term for this would be "hollow victory").¹
The "devastating cost" - we'll call it the strategic cost (less profit for larger margins) - is the fact Microsoft had to deeply, profoundly cut its prices on the Xbox One on market. Now they significantly diminished the value of the platform in consumer's eyes (i.e. "now we know if Microsofts gets a little desperate they will dramatically cut the price, so why buy when the price goes back up to $399?"), and the result was they barely scratched out a win over PS4. So,
technically a victory, but with some serious cost.
And did this news negate the sense of achievement? yes. That's all anyone in this topic is talking about now, and the implications of it are clear: Microsoft can barely win even when they cut the price to insane levels. That's a serious problem for Microsoft, indisputably.
This is as fascinating a result as could have possibly happened. I'm legit shook.
It's crazy. I think there's legitimately no way for them to win December NPD now.