Microsoft had DirectX and a decent kernel before building the XBox. The hardware part was much easier, and also an easy target (do better than Sony) and they h

Microsoft had DirectX and a decent kernel before building the XBox. The hardware part was much easier, and also an easy target (do better than Sony) and they had a slow start. Also, MS had quite a bit of experience in building/maintaining a platform for developers. Frankly, we're not talking about the same kind of leap.