I don't think they can change things at this point if they wanted to. I know some of this can be fixed with a firmware update, and a price cut. The problem is, they ended up this way because this was their goal in the first place. The 300,000 servers for cloud support, the heavy DRM (you don't just do this on a whim, you have a reason), the always on Kinect. Heck, even the RAM being lower grade is because they knew how much they wanted, and incorporated it before GDDR5 came out. ATM, I think they're in too deep to change everything because of online backlash. They're going to need to see sluggish sales, and consumers rejecting the product before they make the change. I think they really believe the X1 is still on it's way to be a huge seller.
Maybe it's a, "best defense is a good offense" approach. Every since the reveal, they've been pretty hostile, or bold on all fronts. They've immediately defended every negative rumor (even if it was with false, muddled, and conflicting statements). They said they were going to, "kill Sony", at E3. In Iceman's article, and what Havok quoted, their comments on their price remind me of Sony's, "you'll work two jobs" statement.
Sony had to learn this early this gen. When you've put off customers, you don't come out with an arrogant swagger, stating you're the greatest. Sony humbled itself, and repaired a lot of the damage. Microsoft is making the same mistake, but on a much grander scale. Too many Microsoft employees have come out with Twitter, or interview statements that basically read, "If you can't afford it, too bad, get with the times. We know what's the future, and what's best, so you'll buy our machine". You just can't be that way if you want to win people back.
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