Yes I know straight away some of you will be like
"Sony dominated this gen" & "Even the switch is outselling it"
But this isn't about sales. This is about my view on the xbox one and how for me it's a masterclass.
Origins
We all know the xbox got off to a bit of a rocky launch. Cries over forced drm, always online and no used games (not entirely true but not what I'm going into) but for me none of those rang hollow. To me they sounded interesting (mainly cuz I rarely trade/buy used games and have been online constantly since 2010) as it was changing how the industry worked. This obviously died as we know it but it has come back in slightly other forms (gamepass being the key example).
The beginning of the turn
Both consoles started off with a bit of a rocky launch line up. I personally liked Ryse but the rest were a bit meh
Then 2014 started with Titanfall coming to Xbox One (a pretty great game), fast forward to September and we had the next Forza Horizon (a pretty good game) and then November a pure delight for everybody Halo MCC, a superb value for arguably the best FPS series around (best overall series for me too!).
The first half of 2015 then was a bit meh (except the witcher 3 but that's multiplat and this is about xbox dammit!) but had stuff like State of Decay being remastered and released for XBO which delighted a good few I'm sure
2015 and beyond
In 2015 the legendary Halo series continued. I loved Halo 5 and was easily the best exclusive game released in 2015 (yes yes i can hear you already, but what about Bloodborne Podge, well I say pfft to that).
MS finally looked to be hitting their groove. They'd dropped the price, Kinect was being slowly but surely pushed to one side, and they were releasing quality games.
E3 2015 brought the news that MS were bringing in backwards capability to the delight of millions!
2016 brought us Gears 4, a series that was wonderful on the 360 and is getting better on the X1, and more Forza Horizon (it's better than the main series lets just all agree). Ori showed us that MS weren't all just massive AAA title but also could focus on indie like games. MS also started getting some of those previous PS4 exclusive games during this year to further reduce the difference.
Not to mention the tease of something bigger & better at E3 2016!!!!
UNLIMITED POWER!!!!!!!!!!!
2017 started off with a bang, the Switch was out and it was swinging hard with Zelda but Xbox already had an ace up it's sleeve. the Xbox One X was formally announced in June of 2017 and boasted a power boost nobody realistically expected from MS
Xbox One X was a beast. It put MS back at the top of power and performance. It also proved to the masses that MS was no longer trying to diversify it's gaming platform to everything (TV TV TV we all remember you!) but it was aiming to be the standard bearer.
2018 truely showed the gap. Games looked and played better on X1X, good news was coming out of the MS camp, devs being acquired showed MS's desire to push forward in the industry
Conclusion
I went on a bit of a ramble i'll admit.
For me Xbox One is the generational masterclass.
Yes they fucked the start and it hurt the sales but they bounced back.
They've released quality games that are best in class for me. I honestly think they're best in gen (yes yes bloodborne fans again and probably some BOTW fans will be baying for blood). They've released a console that's currently unrivaled in power. They've set themselves up to continue to push forward in gaming. They dont look like stopping.
I actually agree with you with everything you said and I will add some stuff of my own if you don't mind. Xbox One really is an amazing console. I love both my PS4 and Xbox One but it is def the Xbox that I go back to daily and play more of and enjoy more of -
Backwards Compatibility
They added Backwards Compatibility which was a huge hit - I love BC - I don't trade or sell my games so I have over 200 Hard Copies of Xbox 360 Games and 80% of them work on Xbox One - I just love that.
Multi-HDD Support
They added External HDD support way before PS4 as well - That made me buy all 3rd Party Titles on Xbox One because now I can just add external drives to the system - In fact I can add up to 3 HDD to the system - Which PS4 still doesn't allow. I have 3 Xbox Ones - Launch / Gears 4 Edition / Xbox One X - All of them have 2 HDD connected to them.
Media Streaming - More Formats
They added Media Streaming to Xbox One before PS4 got that feature back - And from my experience the amount of formats Xbox One supports is almost unlimited - I've had issues with certain files not working with media streaming on PS4 but never on Xbox One - When it comes to streaming stuff from my PC - Xbox One is my go to console.
Power of X
Then came the beast that is Xbox One X - Which as you mentioned plays all 3rd Party games BEST on Xbox One X - So I was buying all 3rd Party games on Xbox One before but now I have another reason to do so. These 3rd party games do work and look best on Xbox One X - Witcher III, Assassin's Creed Origins, Odyssey, DOOM, Wolfenstein Series, Control, Rainbow Six Siege, Mordor Series - etc.
Achievements Sync
Also simple features like Achievements and Cloud Saving is GOD SENT on Xbox One - On PS4 if you get any trophies, you need to go to trophy section and sync them in order for your friends to see them right away - Xbox One, if you get that achievement, it is uploaded that very second.
Cloud Saving done right
Another simple feature which I am sure not many people use here but it is GOD SENT for me is cloud saving. I know PS Plus allows your saves to be uploaded to the cloud and all, but it is not done right away - For a guy like me who owns 2 PS4 systems, (Launch and Pro), if I am playing a game in my bedroom and I decide to stop playing there and head to my man cave to continue - and game supports auto save feature - I can't just shut my PS4 and head to PS4 Pro - I have to make sure to go to the dashboard - please select on the game and then go to upload/download save files, and then copy over the files to the cloud which takes some time (Games like MK11 which I played a lot, takes 5-7 minutes sometimes) and then once it is uploaded, I can turn the system off, head downstairs, turn my PS4 Pro on, highlight the game and again press select and go to Upload/Down Saves and then download those save files on to the system which now will take 5-7 minutes (depending on the game) again and THEN I can continue playing where I left off -
On Xbox One, all is not needed at all - Playing any game, I can switch off my console completely, head downstairs to my Xbox One X, turn it on, and start playing the game and it auto-sync the save files from cloud and I am good to go within 2 seconds. I know this is a feature which almost nobody uses but for people that own 2 Xbox Ones and 2 PS4s, trust me, it is amazing!
Multi App
Also being able to run multiple apps on Xbox One is an excellent feature - Back in the days when Halo MCC just came out, the matches would take long to start and all, I played Trial Fusion in between, while waiting in the lobby and my friends would tell me that we are good to go. It is a simple feature but an excellent one.
Customer Wallpapers - More options
Even for the custom wallpapers - Xbox One X allows all sorts of wallpapers to be added except for one restriction (it has to be smaller than 3MB in file size) - As for PS4 Pro - If your custom wallpaper isn't the exact right size you cannot use it as a custom wallpaper which can get very annoying - Cannot just download any wallpaper but only 3840 x 2160 one (I believe) -
I love all 3 of my consoles and yes they do have their pros and cons but I agree with you that Xbox One is just an amazing console and has a lot to offer - And yes as it plays 3rd party games BEST on it, I do have more games on Xbox One than PS4 -
