There was more hype around Xbox Scorpio than there is around Scarlett , Xbox One X started off with a nice push from Microsoft but it seems like they quickly gave up on it you can get a Xbox One X for $402 right now but no one seems to care that it's $97 off . You can get the Xbox One S A.D for $200 right now but no one seems to care, These are Holiday shopping prices but it's not creating a buzz at all , if people are not buying these consoles with 19% off discounts it has to be the brand that is undesired. Even walking into a retail store like Wal-Mart the Xbox section is like a 3rd the size of the PS4 section like everyone is giving up on Xbox.
Next year the biggest competition for PS5 & Xbox Scarlett will still be PS4 & Switch so Scarlett will need to bring the Xbox brand back in a crowded market & if it fail to gain traction at launch will Microsoft continue to push it or just move on to the Games as a service model?
I'm going to attempt a serious answer, which is probably foolhardy on my part, given how the thread is going so far. But what the hell.
MS is struggling, from the point of view of hardware sales. They're down by about half. Sony's sales are down, too, but only about 20%, iirc. Some drop is expected at this stage of the gen, but to lose half your sales momentum in a year is pretty bad.
However, they're still selling a decent amount, particularly in North America and the UK. They're not the sales juggernaut that Sony is, but they're doing okay. They're doing less well than they did last generation, but they're hanging in there. There are still plenty of people gaming on Xbox and plenty of Xbox fans.
The studio acquisitions will take years to pay off, but the investment is a good sign. It means they're not just resting on their moldy laurels. True, it's too little and too late for this generation, but at least there is some hope for the future.
It does seem clear that they're less interested in hardware sales and more interested in promoting GamePass as a platform available on many different devices -- "the Netflix of gaming," all that stuff. Whether that pans out well for them in the long run remains to be seen.
I actually think they will be a stronger competitor next gen than they were this gen, because of the studio investments and (presumably) the fact that they won't fall on their faces like they did in 2013.
I think the lack of hype around Scarlett is partly because the X was marketed so heavily as "the world's most powerful console" and Xbox guys constantly sung its praises. The downside of that is that the jump to next gen isn't as large (vs. for Pro owners, say). Some will be excited about a new console, but many will be satisfied with what their X is delivering.
