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:
- Halo 3
- Call of Duty 4
- Modern Warfare 2
- Call of Duty: WaW
- Gears of War 2
- GTA IV (Purchase and download the full game)
- Left 4 Dead
- Halo 3: ODST
- Fable II Episode 1 (of 5)
- BioHazard 5 – Resident Evil 5
- Halo Wars – Demo
- Resident Evil 5
- Fallout 3
- UFC 2009 Undisputed Demo
- Left 4 Dead 2 – Demo
- Gears of War
- 1 vs 100
- Guitar Hero World Tour
- Guitar Hero III
- 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:
- GTA IV
- Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II
- Fallout 3
- Shadowrun
- Street Fighter IV
- Halo 2 (PC)
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Resident Evil 5
- Gears of War (Windows)
- Red Faction Guerrilla
- Battlestations: Pacific
- Kane & Lynch: Dead Men
- DiRT 2
- Section 8
- Quantum of Solace (PC)
- FlatOut UC (PC)
- Fuel
- Viva Piñata
- SWTCW: Republic Heroes
- 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
- Battlefield 1943
- Castle Crashers
- Trials HD
- Hasbro Family Game Night (combined sales of all Hasbro Family Game Night titles)
- Shadow Complex
- Marvel vs. Capcom 2
- Magic: The Gathering
- UNO
- Worms
- Peggle
- Worms 2: Armageddon
- Turtles in Time Re-Shelled
- ‘Splosion Man
- A Kingdom for Keflings
- 3 on 3 NHL Arcade
- The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1989 Classic Arcade
- Marble Blast Ultra
- Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
- Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
Top 20 Original Xbox Titles
- Halo 2
- Star Wars: Battlefront 2
- Fable
- Counter-Strike
- Conker: Live Reloaded
- Doom 3
- Splinter Cell Chaos
- SW: KOTOR
- Star Wars: Battlefront
- SW: Republic Commando
- Burnout 3
- Fable: Lost Chapters
- Call of Duty 2
- Call of Duty 3
- Call of Duty Finest Hour
- MechAssault 2
- Crimson Skies
- Guilty Gear XX #Reload
- Rainbow Six 3
- Gauntlet Seven Sorrows
Top 20 Indie Games
- I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1
- Avatar Drop
- RC-AirSim
- Headshot
- Miner Dig Deep
- Rumble Massage
- Who Did I Date Last Night
- Kodu Game Lab
- Avatar Golf
- Aquarium HD
- myFishtank
- Head Shot 2
- DrumKit
- A Perfect Massage
- The Impossible Game
- Inside Lacrosse’s CL2010
- ZP2K9
- ezmuze+ Hamst3r edition
- The Drinking Game
- Physics Sandbox
