> I sense Sony is in dire straits when it comes to both IP availability

Maybe you're referring to that they don't have many IPv4s available, because Sony is in no lack of strong Intellectual Properties when it comes to gaming. Guerrilla Games (Killzone, Horizon Zero Dawn), Insomniac Games (Ratchet & Clank), Naughty Dog (Crash Bandicoot, Jak and Dexter, Uncharted, The Last of Us), Santa Monica Studio (God of War), Polyphony Digital (Gran Turismo) and more are all part of PlayStation Studios which is a division of Sony IE. Most of the studios in PlayStation Studios are big time IP in the industry.

Hm, last time I cared about this stuff was at the end of the 360/PS3 generation and back then MS was in a really bad spot with respect to first party production. To the point where I'm actually amazed they're still in the fight. By the end of that generation the Sony studios where really crushing it, whereas MS' were just pushing GoW, Halo and Kinect shovelware. Has the tables turned?