In just a couple weeks Microsoft will be throwing down hard with Sony as its Xbox One X gaming console hits the market after more than four years of development. Armed with a GPU capable of over 6TFLOPS of computational power and 12GB of GDDR5 it's a roughly 40% performance jump over its rival, the PS4 Pro, and Microsoft is hoping gamers will be willing to skip a few steak dinners to buy one.

The Xbox One X's release will be a big moment for Microsoft, which has lost considerable market share this generation thanks to the PS4 and Switch's Spartan-like execution. The Xbox brand is currently in a tough spot with a limited number of console exclusive releases in the pipeline, half the sold-through numbers of the PS4, and an "XBone" moniker that makes it look silly among its adversaries.

Watch: Check Out the Inside of the Xbox One X

It isn't necessarily that the Xbox One X will ever be able to sell enough consoles to make a big difference; Microsoft isn't even manufacturing that many of them. What does matter is Microsoft is ramping up a sizable marketing campaign that will combine efforts from several angles: improvements to the Xbox ecosystem, multi-million dollar campaigns for major holiday game releases, third-party software wins such as that with PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, in addition to the release of the Xbox One X. Combined, the idea is that Microsoft will slalom uphill toward its way to relevance.

So, what does this mean for you? Well, you can expect to see a lot of Xbox branding, whether it be at sport events, stores, or even online where a new commercial trailer is making rounds, as seen below:

Also, you can expect plenty of arguments on Facebook about which console is better. Or, in other words, you can easily trim down your friend's list in the next couple months.

Microsoft has a big hill to climb, but in all fairness it has made some sharp moves in the past 24 months to help earn mindshare among gamers. For example, out of the big three only Microsoft has invested in proper backward compatibility with prior generation software, and it's also been much more supportive of cross-platform play in games such as Minecraft and Fortnite. At this point its best bet is to continue in these efforts and make sure that whatever its next generation product is, it's better than whatever Sony can come up with. For now, it's likely doomed to a fate of #3 as the PS4 and Switch continue to march forward like titanium-grade Terminators.