Halo 3 is top Xbox Live game of 2009 @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on January 11, 2010

News: While Battlefield 1943 takes the crown as the bestselling XBLA game.

Major Nelson has posted a variety of top 20 lists to his blog detailing the most played Xbox 360, Xbox and Games For Windows Live games as well as the bestselling titles available on the Xbox Live Arcade and Xbox Live Indie Games. The lists cover all of 2009 and count every Xbox 360 connected to Live in the world.

Halo 3 led the way as the most played Xbox 360 game in 2009 (based on Unique Users) with the three most recent Call of Duty games breathing down the Master Chief's neck. Here's the full top 20, complete with the usual suspects:

Top Xbox 360 Titles
1. Halo 3
2. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
4. Call of Duty: World at War
5. Gears of War 2
6. Grand Theft Auto IV
7. Left 4 Dead
8. Halo 3: ODST
9. Fable II: Episode 1
10. Biohazard 5
11. Halo Wars (Demo)
12. Resident Evil 5
13. Fallout 3
14. UFC 2009 Undisputed (Demo)
15. Left 4 Dead 2 (Demo)
16. Gears of War
17. 1 vs 100
18. Guitar Hero: World Tour
19. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
20. FIFA 09

Battlefield 1943 took the top spot as the bestselling XBLA title in 2009 while The Behemoth's Castle Crashers continues to sell well as the number title. Here's the full top 20 (note: Hasbro Family Game Night's ranking combines sales of all HFGN titles):

Bestselling Xbox Live Arcade Titles
1. Battlefield 1943
2. Castle Crashers
3. Trials HD
4. Hasbro Family Game Night **
5. Shadow Complex
6. Marvel vs. Capcom 2
7. Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers
8. Uno
9. Worms
10. Peggle
11. Worms 2: Armageddon
12. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled
13. 'Splosion Man
14. A Kingdom for Keflings
15. 3 on 3 NHL Arcade
16. The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
17. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
18. Marble Blast Ultra
19. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
20. Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

When it comes to original Xbox games played on the Xbox 360, gamers definitely love their Halo and their Star Wars as Halo 2 was the most played game (based on Unique Users) and four Star Wars game populate the top ten. Here's the full top 20:

Top Original Xbox Titles
1. Halo 2
2. Star Wars: Battlefront II
3. Fable
4. Counter-Strike
5. Conker: Live and Reloaded
6. Doom 3
7. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory
8. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
9. Star Wars: Battlefront
10. Star Wars: Republic Commando
11. Burnout 3: Takedown
12. Fable: The Lost Chapters
13. Call of Duty 2: Big Red One
14. Call of Duty 3
15. Call of Duty: Finest Hour
16. MechAssault 2
17. Crimson Skies
18. Guilty Gear XX #Reload
19. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3
20. Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows

If you want to make your game stand out in the heavily populated Xbox Live Indie Games section, a title like I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1 will definitely do it. Here's the full top 20:

Bestselling Xbox Live Indie Games
1. I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1
2. Avatar Drop
3. RC-AirSim
4. Headshot
5. Miner Dig Deep
6. Rumble Massage
7. Who Did I Date Last Night
8. Kodu Game Lab
9. Avatar Golf
10. Aquarium HD
11. myFishtank
12. Head Shot 2
13. DrumKit
14. A Perfect Massage
15. The Impossible Game
16. Inside Lacrosse's CL2010
17. ZP2K9
18. ezmuze+ Hamst3r edition
19. The Drinking Game
20. Physics Sandbox

And finally, while it got off to a rocky start, the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV has come into it's own and it owns the top spot of most played Games For Windows Live game (based on Unique Users) in 2009. Here's the full top 20:

Top Games For Windows Live Titles
1. Grand Theft Auto IV
2. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
3. Fallout 3
4. Shadowrun
5. Street Fighter IV
6. Halo 2
7. Batman: Arkham Asylum
8. Resident Evil 5
9. Gears of War
10. Red Faction: Guerrilla
11. Battlestations: Pacific
12. Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
13. Dirt 2
14. Section 8
15. Quantum of Solace
16. FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage
17. Fuel
18. Viva Piёata
19. Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes
20. Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights