Your argument becomes invalid here
I didn't own a PS3. I came to PS4 by way of Donny macs insults and to be honest, my PS purchase was as an alternative but 5 years later I'm completely locked in. Why?
I need the next uncharted.
My game of the generation is Horizon Zero Dawn
I fell in love With Gravity Rush
God Of War pushes this hobby of ours forward.
Journey got me in my feels
My Wife loved playing through Until Dawn with me
Spider-Man had me and my friends reminiscing on what we used to read in the comics
I've been play SFV and still get a match within less than a minute
Ratchet & Clank was unexpectedly good fun
The Last Of Us is the greatest game I've ever played
And every third party game I've played has additional content exclusive to PS.
I could go on. No seriously, I could go on and on but in short, I need sequels too all those ip. And should the studios decide to move on from the ip that got me hooked, they've already proved that as a gamer, I need to stick with them. I bought an XB1S that came with Forza and gears. Two ip I've played through repeatedly on my 360. And since then, the only purchased I made there was an indie game called Cuphead. In short, IP matters! IP is what keeps people invested.
This notion that gamers look at both new/next gen consoles as a simple 50 / 50 choice is a fallacy. All of the stuff you talk about has ZERO resonance beyond the timdog types on twitter.
Back Compat
Gamepass
Studios that were just bought
Are not selling points. More TFLOPS is not a selling point. If they were XB would at least be in contention in it's strongest market. But even with the launch of the 1X XBOX still came in third place. Are you even aware of the fact that outside of the US a lot of gaming stores don't bother carrying the XBOX console? You litterally have to go to specialist shops, in some regions, to find an XBOX. But somehow "What Phil Spencer said" has you thinking that ip doesn't matter. And next Generation things will start on an even keel. Not realizing that PS success equates to momentum and more importantly mind share. And Sony is starting next generation with all the mind share.
What Phil Spencer says has no impact beyond these gaming forums and I think XB guys refuse to accept that because then the reality of how dire the situation is, with the broader market, will look too stark for comfort.
Oh, boy! You enjoy Sony games like TLoU, Spiderman, GoW, stuff like that?? That's great! Great for you! See, the only problem is that I look at the same line up your balls in for, and it doesnt appeal to me in the least. As for the rest of your post - let me educate you a bit:
BC, Gamepass, Studios, Tflops arent selling pointS to YOU. You cant speak for the whole of the gaming community. If none of those selling points arent your bag, it just aint your bag. No one gives a shit. No offense. But I know of many in the world and online who're seriously considering turning over a "green" leaf. Just read some of the comments on this very forum - how many just purchased brand new X's. Native 4K (Tflops you said no one cared about, 'member?) on the biggest game of this generation w/ RDR2 and a shit load of others that look loads better than the competition. If you pay close attention, most new X owners pretty much commit to using the Pro Ps4 for exclusives and keeping with X for multi's. But.....you know....."Tflops" dont matter. Yeah, right.....
Why would I care where people in other countries buy their console? I give fuck-all. I know where I can buy one.
BC: isnt a sales point for YOU, because you have a sub standard version. It isnt impressive. Whereas with the X you get enhanced BC titles and titles that simply look better due to the hardware. Some look like legit remasters, and you get them for free. But.....nah. That's not a selling point. Nevermind that BC titles are free if you've owned them already, with some of them being enhanced to fucking 4K (which is fucking nuts in itself) and better frame rates. And, I mean, Sony is rumored to add BC to the PS5, right? I wonder why though? According to you, that's not a selling point. If it's not going to help them sell consoles, why include it in the first place???
Gamepass: Isn't a sales point for YOU becasue you have a sub-standard version. Again, just isnt impressive. No enhancements, the hardware plays it - that's about it. Sony could literally send you the same copy of your BC game in the mail, and you STILL couldnt tell the difference in which version looked better; the Digital or the Postal Service copy. That's bad, breh...
Again, if it isnt a selling point, why does Sony have their own version of it now - regardless of how sub-standard it may be??? Hell, they couldnt even be bothered to at least stand equal with GP, they knew it, and still tossed that half-assed, half-baked service out into the wild for rabid Sony fans to gorge on, charging more money than the competition. And Sony fans ate it up. Yikes!!
Not only that, your BC will remain unimpressive because it'll never offer day one release of Sony's first party bangers. Won't happen, cant happen. And you'll still be overcharged for a sub-standard service that cant hold a candle to the competition. That's why it's not a selling point to you. It's covered in vaseline and smells like ass. Just saying, breh...
And youre absolutely correct in saying that what "Phil says" isn't much. I stand with you there. But when I see action to back up what he says, that's when I start paying attention.
I'm not here to bag on Sony. Hell, they have a great system and in my opinion, have definitely earned 1st place this gen. (although I wouldnt say that makes them the best system out there.) For whatever reason Microsoft couldnt match them in the SP department - regardless of financial constraints or whatever. And if you're an Xbox fan, it's a "better late than never" scenario where we are finally seeing what we've been wanting to see this entire generation.
..But it is happening now, isn't it?