I don't think even MS and Sony believe this marketing buzz. It's very well relevant.
Yeah this always been some shit the Sony and/or Microsoft try to sell fo different reasons, but it's never tracked. They are competitors and absolutely what works for Nintendo would absolutely work for Microsoft.
If Gears, Halo, Fable, etc. were firing at all cylinders right now Microsoft wouldn't be having nearly the amount of issues it is currently having. It's also complete BS because Microsoft could easily make CoD, MineCraft, Diablo, etc. exclusive and get themselves out of the hole they built themselves, but they refuse to do that (less money to make I'm sure). But then they also preach that their hands are tied and exclusives/quality games would not fix their current hardware issues which again is false.
It's all just PR BS. They have a different agenda yet they try to act like they are the little guy trying their hardest because it's the better public position to take. In reality all their decisions behind closed doors are really made from greed without zero care for the consumer, which is not exactly a good PR stance to market. Enter Phil Spencer and company. Complete facade.