To support our customers' "unprecedented move" to migrate their PC environment to Windows 7, we have decided to extend downgrade rights to Windows XP Professional beyond the previously planned end date at Windows 7 SP1.
Windows 7's selling so fast, we're keeping XP around longer. I mean, 74% of business computers still run XP. In fact, we'll just support XP for as long as we support 7. Maybe longer.
[Vista's] lifecycle policy has been in effect since before the launch of Windows 7, and it has very little impact on most customers, as many retailers and OEMs have already discontinued sales of Windows Vista in favor of Windows 7.
Windows Vista sold so fast, we've already stopped selling it. In fact, we'll support XP longer than we will Vista.
Microsoft now spends time, money, and manpower maintaining the operating system that won't die, the operating system that was dead on arrival, and their current operating system, as well as any effort going into a new one. This is not a good business decision.
[Edit:] Windows XP support is still due to expire in April 2014. So you'll be able to downgrade and run XP, it'll just be (more) insecure.