I agree with Microsoft for the same reason they do. I don't own one.
It's decently likely a ruling around app stores will have impact not just on mobile and desktop, but the console world as well.
But I do agree that there will be a console war if this is continued. I would hope that it leads down the "I own this device" route and level the playing field in general - I've paid Microsoft, Nintendo or Sony the money for the device, therefore I should have the right to run whatever I want on it. Gatekeeping what can be run on a device is a significant problem that needs to be resolved, along with the right to repair (Apple's a good example of the problems) and the second hand market (Tesla is a good example of the problems).
As a developer I pay Apple $99 a year and i can release my app to the store as long as it meets some pretty lose guidelines. To get on a console you have to basically audition your game and met some arbitrary guidelines that aren't published anywhere. Either a company can build a curated system or they can't. XBox, PS4, and the switch aren't monopolies for gaming and iOS or Android aren't monopolies for mobile.
And Nintendo.
I don't follow consoles these days, but the gatekeeping by region that console makers used to do (even if I understand the reasons behind them) was incredibly annoying as well.
I think the perception of game consoles is different from PCs and mobile devices. Even though the game console is a computer, they're still not seen by the public or governments as a general computing platform no matter how blurred the lines have become.
Physical vs Digital is a whole nother holy war though.
"Allow from this source? [ ] Installing apps from this source may put your phone and data at risk."
And it's not like this is hidden the way developer mode is. It pops up when you try to install an APK file.
Agreed, it's not as bad as it used to be. Android needed developer mode, iOS needed the device to be registered as a test device.
Agreed, it's not a perfect system, but it's not exactly the same as the Apple app store - the only way to get software on to iOS for the longest time (recently, side loading has become easier and less gatekept, but still not the same as the desktop experience).
Possibly not for much longer. Sony is releasing the two versions of the PS5, the "digital edition" of which has no BD drive and can't use physical game media. It'll be interesting to see whether it has much uptake.
It will. Physical media is a practical annoyance for most consumers.
I guess the sales numbers will tell the bigger story.
Look at every retro console - their games still work on their platforms, and there's a second hand market for games. It's a shame they're no longer made, but at least there's a physical copy that can be traded instead of a digital copy DRM'd to an account on a store that's no longer operational.