Halo 3 Beats Modern Warfare for Live’s Top Spot

Major Nelson has named the top 20 Live games of 2009 and for once, Modern Warfare 2 doesn’t come out on top.

The lists include the Top 20 Live Games for the past year along with other categories like Top Arcade Titles, Top Original Xbox Titles, Top Indie Games and Top Games for Windows Live Titles. The rankings are based on either the number of unique users connected to the Live service in 2009 or, for Arcade and Indie games, the number of full versions of each game purchased. So, without further ado, the list of Top 20 Live Games for 2009:

1. Halo 3
2. Call of Duty 4
3. Modern Warfare 2
4. Call of Duty: WaW
5. Gears of War 2
6. GTA IV (Purchase and download the full game)
7. Left 4 Dead
8. Halo 3: ODST
9. Fable II Episode 1 (of 5)
10. BioHazard 5 – Resident Evil 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
20. FIFA 09

Perhaps most noteworthy is the fact that more than two years after its release, Halo 3 is still dominating Xbox Live. With Modern Warfare 2 achieving third place after being released in mid-November, however, I wouldn’t be too surprised to see that change in 2010.

The Top 20 Games for Windows Live list is also interesting, for somewhat different reasons. Have a look:

1. GTA IV
2. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
3. Fallout 3
4. Shadowrun
5. Street Fighter IV
6. Halo 2 (PC)
7. Batman: Arkham Asylum
8. Resident Evil 5
9. Gears of War (Windows)
10. Red Faction Guerrilla
11. Battlestations: Pacific
12. Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
13. DiRT 2
14. Section 8
15. Quantum of Solace (PC)
16. FlatOut UC (PC)
17. Fuel
18. Viva Piñata
19. SWTCW: Republic Heroes
20. Juiced 2: HIN

Halo 2? Section 8? The much-reviled Shadowrun in the top five? I think this list says more about the current state of Games for Windows Live than it does about what’s actually popular with gamers. Clearly, Microsoft has a lot of work ahead of it if it’s serious about making Live relevant to PC gamers.

The rest of the lists are as follows:

Top 20 Arcade Titles

1. Battlefield 1943
2. Castle Crashers
3. Trials HD
4. Hasbro Family Game Night (combined sales of all Hasbro Family Game Night titles)
5. Shadow Complex
6. Marvel vs. Capcom 2
7. Magic: The Gathering
8. UNO
9. Worms
10. Peggle
11. Worms 2: Armageddon
12. 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 1989 Classic Arcade
18. Marble Blast Ultra
19. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
20. Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

Top 20 Original Xbox Titles

1. Halo 2
2. Star Wars: Battlefront 2
3. Fable
4. Counter-Strike
5. Conker: Live Reloaded
6. Doom 3
7. Splinter Cell Chaos
8. SW: KOTOR
9. Star Wars: Battlefront
10. SW: Republic Commando
11. Burnout 3
12. Fable: Lost Chapters
13. Call of Duty 2
14. Call of Duty 3
15. Call of Duty Finest Hour
16. MechAssault 2
17. Crimson Skies
18. Guilty Gear XX #Reload
19. Rainbow Six 3
20. Gauntlet Seven Sorrows

Top 20 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