After ALL the bad PR Microsoft have had the ENTIRE YEAR, they still manage to make it the best selling xbox yet... crazy... I think they would have to be pretty pleased... and I think Sony is thinking they wished they had it in the bag, but there's probably still a lot of work for them to do to regain all the lost users from PS2 to PS3.
Walked into EB Games again today, on all the PS4 advertising it said - join the queue for a console in 2014, and XBOX One was available now. This has been the message for the last 3 or 4 months, if thats the case, I bet there's tons of people who aren't willing to wait for a PS4 and probably just getting a Xbox One today.... would the general public know that one outputs at 720p while the other at 1080p unless they were told? Hardly, I think. They probably also read somewhere that they both have 8gb ram anyway and both have 500gb hard drive and they BOTH have COD. I mean it never stopped the PS2 winning the console war when the xbox was far superior in hardware.
So yeah I don't think its over at all in terms of the console war, I think microsoft HAS to be pretty pleased with itself, given how trounced they were in the lead up AND considering the surface had nowhere near as bad press and tanked so bad and also particularly as it seemed like it was rushed to production, rushed for presentation and rushed for release this year. If it was coming out March next year, PS4 may have too much of a head start, probably a 6m unit head start. Now if both run to March - given its projections, xbox may only be ceding 3m or so units.
Also I don't think the $100 difference is THAT significant for first day buyers... particularly when the PS4 is not available anyway and probably selling at way more than $499 on ebay... in fact xbox is probably a bargain in that case and selling units. Sure no one really wants kinect anymore, but consumers aren't really given a choice, I don't think people will refuse to buy a next gen console because of kinect, they will grumble a bit and just fork out the money.
I have to say, the last six months hearing the xbone get bashed endlessly for being inferior, for having kinect, for having always online etc etc was pretty tiresome, I mean Sony did a great job stealthily fuelling the fanboys, lobbing grenades over at Microsoft whenever they could (and sometimes not so stealthily). But in the end both consoles and both UIs are probably better than last generations, and both play great games. The launch lineups while I didn't think looked great to begin with, have really grown on me. When was the last time we had games of the calibre of Forza, Killzone, Battlefield, NBA 2k14, AC4, COD, Fifa 14 and a long lineup of indie games. So I mean, after all the bashing, the xbone to me looks like a really impressive system... and the only reason Im not getting one right now is that I'm just going with the one system for the time being. But if I couldn't get the PS4, i sure as hell wouldn't feel gimped at getting an xbone.
Your Original Xbox vs PS2 is a very unfair comparison...at the time, the Original Xbox did NOT have any solid foundation built yet..while PS2 did. So that power difference comparison you made does not really count.
Another thing i would like to point out is i noticed a HUGE amount of hasty judgements going on around Gaf and other gaming forums since the PS4 and Xbox One has been released.. The majority of Day 1 buyers have been nothing but the more hardcore gamers which in all honestly is a TINY FRACTION of the main bulk of future buyers...the regular average joe crowd is always the majority in console sales...believe it of not. My point is...just about everything you are saying along with everyone else making judgements so early in the next gen consoles are imho ...very hasty to say the least.
To be honest..if we really want a GOOD indication this early in these new consoles...go call around and ask if the xbox one is in stock and ask if the PS4 is in stock....i guarantee the xbox one is in stock in A LOT of stores..where as the PS4 is no where to be found and most likely will be hard to find a PS4 well after Christmas passes on by.
Price does matter...right now not so much because again most buyers are the more hardcore buyers that already set aside funds to buy a console on launch day...the rest of the sales in the near future and far off future will be the more casual gamers or those that simply will only be able to afford a console later down the road.
Long story short....i would put all my marbles on PS4 this generation by a HUGE margin...they just got too much going for it this time around and most important is price point and exclusives..the two main factors in a successful console and Sony has this sowed up BIGTIME.