I think the big reason this happenedis because Sony prosecuted GeoHot, which they should have done considering the guy released the master security key for their system, which basically meant they couldn't protect against piracy anymore. Bad for business, methinks. Should've been keeping their security for everything else a bit more... formidable though. Massive failure on their part.
However, Microsoft aren't really much better. Anyone remember the RRoD? Took them at least 3 years to sort that. Great fun, forking out hundreds of *choose your currency* just for it to turn into a paperweight because it got too hot, and you didn't even have a guarantee that it was fixed when you got it back, or that it wouldn't happen with a new one.
Fine, they didn't just lose the financial details of millions of customers because of that. However, it probably cost their customers a similar amount of money overall that Sony's customers are going to lose through any fraudulent activities with their assorted financial escapades. They also didn't offer anything beyond extra customer warranty, and you were buggered if you didn't have that or had modded the system in any way.
But this is just the viewpoint of an anti-Microsoft chummer, so take it as you will.