Skyrim's the Third Most Popular Game on Xbox 360

[Greg Tito]

Skyrim's the Third Most Popular Game on Xbox 360

Even though it's not a multiplayer game, Xbox Live still tracks what connected consoles are playing.

And they are playing a lot of Skyrim. Each week, Major Nelson a.k.a. Microsoft's Xbox guru Larry Hryb, lists the most popular games on his service. Usually, such lists are dominated by online shooters with a random sports game or two thrown in. Last week's list is no different, with Call of Dutys Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops in the #1 and #2 spots respectively. The anomaly is Skyrim sitting there in the tertiary position. Not bad for an uber-nerdy fantasy RPG.

What's even more amazing is that Skyrim has no multiplayer component, but Major Nelson's lists track consoles that are connected and signed into Xbox Live even if the games are not actively played over the online service. That means that Skyrim is the third most popular game on connected Xboxes - not a small feat - but I wonder how the player numbers would compare if unconnected Xboxes could be tabulated.

Would Skyrim beat out MW3 then? I hope so.

Here's the full list for the week ending on November 21st, if you're interested:


Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Skyrim
Battlefield 3
FIFA 12
Modern Warfare 2
Halo: Reach
Gears of War 3
Madden NFL 12
Saints Row: The Third
Assassin's Creed Revelations
GTA IV
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
Forza Motorsport 4
Batman: Arkham City
NBA 2K12
Halo 3
FIFA S
NHL12
Call of Duty 4


Source: Major Nelson [http://majornelson.com/2011/11/30/live-activity-for-week-of-november-21st/]

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[imnot]

Yeah you go girl!!

Seems Skyrims more popular than I thought!

 

[MrLumber]

Anybody else saddened that every game on there is a sequel, successor, or remake?

 

[Drop_D-Bombshell]

I'm assuming this for this week or month or something, considering the amount of people who still play MW2 and Black Ops and Halo 3.

Still, seeing Forza on there is something i didn't expect.

 

[MurderousToaster]

It's sort of strange that Halo 3, GTAIV and Call of Duty 4 still rank on that list, as "old" as they are.

 

[tmande2nd]

FPSes will always rank #1 until they take an arrow to the knee.

 

[wooty]

Thats because everyones too afraid to go online with Skyrim incase it makes you download the patch!

 

[omega_peaches]

I find it pretty funny that 1/5 games on their are CoD.

 

[Wolfhowl the shadow lurker]

a fluttershy yay for skyrim!

 

[Brawndo]

Anybody else saddened that every game on there is a sequel, successor, or remake?

+1. Rankings like this only discourage new IPs. Well that, and the $10-20 million investment needed to make an AAA title. Why take a huge risk with a new IP when you can just pump out sequels, expansion packs, and DLC to an already existing fanbase?

 

[Awexsome]

Anybody else saddened that every game on there is a sequel, successor, or remake?

Not really. Since I'm not obsessed more with ORIGINALUHTEE over whether or not the game is actually well crafted and fun to play.

 

[scw55]

Anybody else saddened that every game on there is a sequel, successor, or remake?

+1. Rankings like this only discourage new IPs. Well that, and the $10-20 million investment needed to make an AAA title. Why take a huge risk with a new IP when you can just pump out sequels, expansion packs, and DLC to an already existing fanbase?

Would a series of generic western action rpgs be worse than a series of generic fps? I shudder to think. I could barely manage Gothic 4 and Divinity 2 and 2 Worlds 2 and The Witcher.

 

[Shifty]

I am simply delighted with this news. Credit where its due. I am not a die hard fan (as I would not be of any game) but you can see where the work went into on Skyrim.

Round of applause.

 

[Coldster]

C'mon fellow Xbots! Stop playing Call of Duty (for a while at least) and play some Skyrim! FUS RO DAH! Oh, but I'll still be playing MW3 because I'm getting Skyrim for Christmas...sorry.

 

[enzilewulf]

Times like these I feel bad that I got it on PS3.

 

[Burn2Feel]

Yeah you go girl!!

Seems Skyrims more popular than I thought!

Really? Look at the forum topics since Skyrim came out and see how many are based on it or it is mentioned in said topics. Skyrim's popularity is insane, I can see why it's so high up.

 

[ryo02]

they only track consoles that are online? Skyrim has no real online element yet still ranks third? ... so in other words it pretty much is guaranteed to actually be number one?.

 

[Frank_Sinatra_]

FPSes will always rank #1 until they take an arrow to the knee.

This post wins for the remainder of today.

I find it very depressing that CoD holds the top 2 spots, but at least the best game of the years is in 3d.