Not sure I follow your logic. They’re widening their user base by removing the “console” need. What market have they lost? Hardware sales have been operating at razor thin margins for years. PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo don’t make loads on console sales. They make much money on sales in their marketplaces. Games and subs. Xbox is just ahead of the game by removing the “buy in” cost to their marketplace. Theres a case study for you. Not saying it’s better for the end user. It may be, it may not be. But it’s certainly better for the bottom line.
I mean… That’s part of their intentional pivot right? “Everything’s an Xbox”. They’re after subscriptions to their ecosystem. Play from your tv, tablet, phone, computer with no hassle. Not saying it’s the best or right for everyone, but it’s certinly a calculated business decision rather than a side effect of discontent by users.