XBLA 2007 sales chart shows old favourites sell best

Microsoft’s Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb has published the 2007 bestseller list for Xbox Live Arcade, and the chart is dominated by well-known long-running games brands.

The 1989 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game takes the crown, with the likes of Worms, Castlevanie, Bomberman and Sonic the Hedgehog taking other spots in the listing.

The listing is a little ironic – Microsoft touts Xbox Live Arcade as a perfect platform for new ideas and independent releases, however it’s clear that the major sales drivers are those with familiar brands or concepts. Geometry Wars (now almost two years old) remains the one major breakthrough game that was (relatively) new to the service. Space Giraffe (and Tempest 2000 and Gridhopper++) developer Jeff Minter last year claimed that this situation was discouraging him from developing titles for the service.

The chart as reported by Hryb is as follows:

Top Xbox Live arcade titles (sales):

1. TMNT 1989 Arcade
2. Worms
3. Castlevania: SOTN
4. Uno
5. Bomberman Live
6. 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures
7. Sonic the Hedgehog
8. Pinball FX
9. Geometry Wars FX
10. Texas Hold ‘Em