The new year festivities may be over, but there is still some time for reflective stat crunching if you're Xbox Live's resident cheeky chappy, Major "Major Nelson" Nelson. The Nelsonator has revealed 2008's top Xbox Live successes, charting the major games played over XBL and purchased on Live Arcade. 

If you like indie, then this was a good year on XBLA. Castle Crashers topped the chart, followed by Geometry Wars 2, but it's the fact that Braid is in third place which warms my heart. This is the type of game you'd have expected to fail, especially with Microsoft deciding to hawk the price up. I find it encouraging that a game of Braid's caliber can actually get into a sales chart at all, let along take third place.

As for Xbox Live play, Halo 3 unsurprisingly takes the lead, followed by Call of Duty 4 and GTA IV. The list is more or less a lineup of the usual suspects, so it needn't be a shock. 

The full list of stats come after the jump, just in case you really love numbers.

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (based on UU’s)

Call of Duty 4
GTA IV
Gears of War 2
Gears of War
CoD: World at War
Guitar Hero III
Battlefield: Bad Company Demo
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Demo
Rock Band
Fable II
Mirror's Edge Demo
Madden NFL 09
BF: Bad Company
Rainbow Six Vegas 2
UNO
Castle Crashers
COD: World at War Multiplayer Beta
Forza Motorsport 2
Too Human - Demo

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions purchased)

Castle Crashers
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
Braid
A Kingdom for Keflings
UNO
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
Fable II Pub Games
Duke Nukem 3D
Bionic Commando: Rearmed
Worms
SOULCALIBUR
Portal: Still Alive
DOOM
1942: Joint Strike
Bomberman Live
MEGA MAN 9
N+
Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3
Marble Blast Ultra
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

The above arcade list is based on full versions purchased.

Original Xbox Top Live Titles (based on UU’s)

Halo 2
Fable
Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
Counter-Strike
Fable: Lost Chapters
Doom 3
Conker: Live Reloaded
Splinter Cell Chaos
SW: KOTOR
SW: Republic Commando
Star Wars: Battlefront
Burnout 3
Guilty Gear XX #Reload
Gauntlet Seven Sorrows
Call of Duty 3
Ninja Gaiden Black
Crimson Skies
MechAssault 2
Call of Duty 2
Rainbow Six 3