In my opinion it all depends on the situation you are in. Sony already has PS1 and PS2 reputation to help PS3 sales, in the other hand Microsoft actually need to invest in commercial so that he can make some history for himself. My choice will depend on the situation. But i think that they are both doing what they need to do. If i already have some reputation, i will choose sony method and focus on the quality, but if i m new in the market where others has made a reputation for themselves, then i will go with microsoft method.

I like whatever strategy brings me good games.

Since both companies have delivered this, is there really a need to answer the question?

That and it's totally unfair to compare total SW sales of a console that launched a year (a year and a half in some regions) after the other console in the comparision.

You guys have it all wrong.

Sony spends all their money on lossy hardware.

Microsoft spends all their money fixing less lossy hardware.

Compared to their overall marketing efforts, the hardware expenditure completely dwarfs everything.

I only own an xbox, so evidently I prefer MS's strategy; but it's not because of the adverts, it's because IMO their games are superior.  I am a Halo addict, loved Gears of War 1&2, enjoyed Too Human too much, cracked out on Crackdown, tripped out alot to Geometry Wars 1&2, traversed the universe in Mass Effect 1&2, and even killed some bugs in Earth Defense Force 2017.  Those are just a few Xbox flavorites of mine and other than the Halo commercials, only the "Mad World" GoW commercial was even memorable to me.

Thats very true, i wish SONY would step up the marketing. That is all they need to actually start shifting PS3's from the shelves and its one of the reasons they were behind for the first few years of this generation.

(At the guy above me)

^ Most of those games are the reason this generation has been a piss poor shooter fest.