Let me see if I can answer Timbo a little better. I was a 360 guy last gen, before that I was all PS2. I am the consumer that speaks with my wallet based on value. I had a PS3 and loved the games, but the experience was not there. Not to mention I wanted to adopt PS3 when it was released but they alienated me with the pricing from the get go. I wanted to go with Xbox after the great experience I had on 360, but then all their announcements came out and then Sony's and Sony catered to my every want and need and I made my mind up then. Even when they reversed their DRM and such, they didn't fix price and I could care less about kinect.
If the roles were reversed and Sony priced higher and forced me to have a camera, then Xbox One would have been my choice.
Yep. This was exactly the situation for me for the most part. The only exception is MS alienated me eariler with terrible customer service when my Live account got hacked (see my 2 CAG blog posts) and by focusing on Kinect and releasing hardly any worthwhile exclusives for core gamers after Gears 3.
I ended up getting a PS3 during that hacking debacle, and it became my main platform from then on as I found Sony just had a much better library of exclusives and PS+ is a great value and has given me access to a ton of great games for minimal cost. It's a big part of why I haven't taken the next gen plunge yet. There's just no reason to with so much to play on PS+ and having a decent backlog for that on PS3 and Vita, as well as stuff to play on 3DS and Wii U.
But otherwise, I'm not loyal to any company. I vote with my wallet and support the platforms that have the types of games and experiences I want. 8bit and 16bit generation I was a kid so could only have one console, and we had NES and SNES. Then I was obviously a pretty big Nintendo fan, so I went N64 the next go around, but eventually got a PS1 too. But I definitely played the N64 more.
The next gen I got a GC first, but ended up playing the PS2 most. Also got an Xbox 1 when KOTOR came out, but I really didn't play it that much. Beat maybe 10 games on it. Last gen I got a Wii first as I bought into hype, had long been a Nintendo fan and the 360, and especially PS3, were too expensive at launch. Sony really alienated me with the $500-600 launch price due to Bluray which I didn't need at the time as I didn't have an HDTV, hence why I didn't get one until Jan 2012 despite the PS2 being my most played console the prior gen. Again, my loyalties don't stick. I got a 360 for Gears of War and it was my most played console by far from 2007-2012
This gen I impulse bought a Wii U in November as I just had to have my Nintendo fix--especially now that it was in HD and didn't have motion control nonsense shoehorned into every game. And I'll eventually get a PS4 as I love Sony's exclusives, PS+ and look forward to remote play on Vita so I can game when my fiancee is using the main TV like I do on the Wii U gamepad currently. MS is just too locked in on casuals and dude bros with their focus on shooters, sports games and racers. I like a good FPS, but there are plenty of those on Sony's platforms and Sony just has a lot more genre variety with better indie and Japanese developer support.
MS has completely lost my interest with the DRM shit they tried, lack of exclusives I still care about, and forcing in kinect when I loathe motion control stuff. Never say never, but I have a hard time seeing MS doing anything that would get me to buy an X1. I'm already drowning in games and own too many platforms. So with definitely getting a PS4 first, I doubt I'll ever pick up an X1.
That said, when the next gen rolls around I'll be open minded as to which platform(s) fit my needs and things change generation to generation.