Make no mistake, 2008 was a great year for Xbox Live. On the whole, our hopes for 2009 are high, but in retrospect, let’s take a look at the big hitters of last year.

Microsoft has released data revealing twenty of the most played titles on Live, convenient broken up in separate charts of retail games, XBLA titles, and even Xbox Originals.

Results on the retail side of the charts are far from surprising, with both Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4 topping out at first and second place, respectively. But where things get a tad more interesting, is the list of top XBLA titles, which is dominated by several indy efforts, including Behemoth’s Castle Crashers and Jonathan Blow’s Braid. Look for the complete chart listing past the break, provided by Xbox community manager Larry Hryb.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles

1 Halo 3
2 Call of Duty 4
3 GTA IV
4 Gears of War 2
5 Gears of War
6 CoD: World at War
7 Guitar Hero III
8 Battlefield: Bad Company Demo
9 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Demo
10 Rock Band
11 Fable II
12 Mirror’s Edge Demo
13 Madden NFL 09
14 BF: Bad Company
15 Rainbow Six Vegas 2
16 UNO
17 Castle Crashers
18 COD: World at War Multiplayer Beta
19 Forza Motorsport 2
20 Too Human – Demo

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions purchased)
1 Castle Crashers
2 Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
3 Braid
4 A Kingdom for Keflings
5 UNO
6 Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
7 Fable II Pub Games
8 Duke Nukem 3D
9 Bionic Commando: Rearmed
10 Worms
11 SOULCALIBUR
12 Portal: Still Alive
13 DOOM
14 1942: Joint Strike
15 Bomberman Live
16 MEGA MAN 9
17 N+
18 Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3
19 Marble Blast Ultra
20 Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

Original Xbox Top Live Titles

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

The Top 20 LIVE Games of 2008 [Major Nelson]

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