I highly doubt the Xbox team is happy about the current circumstances, but they're not going to out-Sony Sony. That ship sailed back in like 2008 and then it capsized in 2013 and sank like a rock into an abyss.
If they want to upset the market they have to do something different in a big way that the competition can't or won't copy. They need to play to their biggest asset, Windows. If they opened up Xbox to play anything a Windows 10 PC plays then it closes the software breadth and depth gap and then some.
The bigger the install base of devices the more they win back third party development, the more consumers they get, and the more people likely to buy their flagship releases and take chances on new IP and niche games MS publishes. They have to get back big market share first with something that has global appeal and feels like a big consumer win that washes away all the dirt from 2013 for good.
I know the arguments against that strategy, namely the conflict of Windows Store with things like GOG and Steam, but the bigger picture is a larger Windows base of gamers that devs can't afford to ignore when choosing between Windows, Android, iOS, PlayStation, and/or Nintendo. A large user base that over time could become accustomed to the Windows Store for at least the exclusive MS made stuff. If MS made their store more competitive and user friendly, maybe over years the Windows Store could even be preferred for some folks for certain releases.
I doubt this is the road they take, but I know at this point they can't hope to outplay Sony on Sony's terms. Then they have Nintendo to worry about now who consolidated all their teams for Switch development, so they're going to have a ton of games for one device now.
If they want to upset the market they have to do something different in a big way that the competition can't or won't copy. They need to play to their biggest asset, Windows. If they opened up Xbox to play anything a Windows 10 PC plays then it closes the software breadth and depth gap and then some.
The bigger the install base of devices the more they win back third party development, the more consumers they get, and the more people likely to buy their flagship releases and take chances on new IP and niche games MS publishes. They have to get back big market share first with something that has global appeal and feels like a big consumer win that washes away all the dirt from 2013 for good.
I know the arguments against that strategy, namely the conflict of Windows Store with things like GOG and Steam, but the bigger picture is a larger Windows base of gamers that devs can't afford to ignore when choosing between Windows, Android, iOS, PlayStation, and/or Nintendo. A large user base that over time could become accustomed to the Windows Store for at least the exclusive MS made stuff. If MS made their store more competitive and user friendly, maybe over years the Windows Store could even be preferred for some folks for certain releases.
I doubt this is the road they take, but I know at this point they can't hope to outplay Sony on Sony's terms. Then they have Nintendo to worry about now who consolidated all their teams for Switch development, so they're going to have a ton of games for one device now.