Call of Duty 4 tops Halo 3 in Xbox Live activity

by Justin McElroy { Jan 22nd 2008 at 1:00PM }

Well, this is a surprise. Though it seemed like an unstoppable juggernaut of multiplayer dominance, it appears that Halo 3 has been ousted from the top of the Xbox Live activity chart by Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4. The rest of the top 5 for last week was rounded out by Guitar Hero III, Gears of War and Rock Band.

We have to admit it: We're pretty impressed. Though, now that we think about it, it kind of makes sense. We have been hearing a lot more chatter about friends crawling up the CoD 4 ranks than getting together Halo games as of late. It's not like you can make too much of it after one week, but it's definitely something we're keeping an eye on. What about you? Which one's still getting your gaming minutes?

Tags: activision, bungie, call-of-duty-4, cod4, halo, halo-3, xbox-live

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

Johnk87 @ Jan 27th 2008 10:10PM

COD4 is an extreamly good game but the Halo triligy has been and will continue to be the back bone of the Xbox and the Xbox 360 systems. Microsoft has it lucky to have such grate games after Halo 3 but will still market the best game for the system as the Halo games.

flameofdoom666 @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:04PM

CoD4 passed Halo 3 on the Halo box?! That isn't good news for Microsoft....

dan stabbingworth @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:12PM

Because diversity is bad?

flameofdoom666 @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:12PM

Not at all, but thats like Street Fighter surpassing Brawl on the Wii (or something to that effect).

It is just shocking.

copa @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:15PM

It is absolutely astonishing, but I'm not sure it underscores much weakness for Halo 3, which holds steady with hundreds of thousands of unique users each night.

I think it is much more a testament to COD4. COD4 is a phenomenal game, but I had underestimated the staying power of its online multiplayer component. It has continued to amass a well-deserved audience.

Also, check out the rise of Rock Band, which was completely absent from the charts during the first month of its release. Rock Band doesn't have the name recognition of the other franchise, but it is slowly amassing a huge, loyal, audience.

By holidays of 2008, I'm pretty sure that even the casual gamers will recognize that Guitar Hero's time has come and gone.

xFenixKnightx @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:03PM

Its just that COD4 is a sweet ass game and more fun than Halo3. IMO of course, and...everyone else apparently. I dont even remember the last time I even logged into a multiplayer match on Teh Haloz. Then can you imagine when more maps come out for COD4? It will definately stay on top...for good. ;)

C4PTAIN AWE5OME @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:19PM

Why not? I think the fact that the 360 has 2 insanely popular games attracting people to Live is great news for Microsoft.

naxe @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:04PM

what a suprise another fps!

baby sea tuna @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:15PM

What a surprise, another dumb anti-FPS comment! We get it, you don't like first-person shooters and you don't like the Xbox. Let it go.

PS. You do realize that one of the like two PS3 games to break a million copies is of the dreaded FPS variety, right? Oh, and that pretty much all the rest of the most popular PS3 games are shooters (R&C, CoD4, Uncharted), right? So unless you go out and buy 10 copies of Folklore or some shit, expect to see more of that poison genre.

NATO_Duke @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:26PM

Naxe is the asshat who says this in each post mentioning a FPS title.

See:
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/22/the-club-demo-now-on-xbox-live/

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/21/rumor-frontlines-canceled-on-ps3-also-pc-multiplayer-beta-is/

Naxe - move on. Your broken record argument is lame and just makes you look desperate for attention.

NATO_Duke @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:33PM

Digital - he said shooters, not FPS. Rachet is a platformer - and that's also a shooter. Drakes is a shooter as well as an action title. (They are more in the 3rd person genre of course, but shooting is involved quite a bit.)

You were a bit quick on that one.

naxe @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:39PM

isn't it obvious by now i'm just talking out of my ass to rattle your cages? do you honestly think i care? i play whatever is hot at the time. i have a crap box. going on the third one due to rrod. you cannot deny that xbox is pretty much a first person shooter machine. i mean i can play the exact same games with better graphics and better controls on pc. right? but w.e iam an ass hat clown fish. it gets me PO'd when i hear people hyping up the xbox to be the superior console when all it has to offer is a watered down pc experience. that has had over a year head start over the competition. as an unbias consumer (not Gamer)the xbox 360 = shyt. check the statistics the most faulty electronic ever produced.

baby sea tuna @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:43PM

Ratchet and Clank is a shooter/platformer, where you do more shooting than platforming. Why do you think they give you 35 different guns and like 3 platforming gadgets?

Uncharted is an adventure game at heart, sure, but you do so much more shooting in that game as compared to a true "adventure" game like a Tomb Raider or something. Honestly, while I enjoyed the platforming and exploration elements of Uncharted, I did notice that it tended to skew a little battle heavy. A more eloquent assement of it can be found here: http://www.avclub.com/content/games/uncharted_drakes_fortune

...though, with all the name calling, eloquence might not quite be your speed.

Oh, and I didn't even mention UT3, Warhawk, FEAR, Orange Box, or The Darkness.

Leobebes @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:37PM

Dude we get it your skills as a gamer are only limited to turn based one button mash-fests. You don't have to make fun of a genre that you have obviously have absolutely no skill or ability to adapt in. Instead of ridiculing the genre realize that FPS games will continue to finance your over glorified Saturday morning point and click adventures that only sell 250,000 copies with each iteration.

GRANTED @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:39PM

tuna - that's pretty much the shittiest review i've ever read for a game. he basis his criticism on the fact that real treasure hunters don't kill pirates. uncharted is a 3rd person shooter, only assholes would fault it for being one.

and naxe is a bigger dumbass than that reviewer--who cares if the big name games are shooters. go play carcassone and leave us alone.

Vidikron (FU) @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:41PM

Let's just be clear here though... games like Resistance, R&C, Warhawk, and Uncharted are nothing alike. That's a bit of a pet peeve of mine. There are a lot of "shooters" out there, but it annoys me when people try to group them together. Something I'm sure naxe would love to do, and even though I'm sure you aren't trying to say that, BST, it does sort off come off like you are saying that.

Noshino @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:15PM

baby sea tuna,

Sadly, despite the fact that he is stating it in an unpolite way, he is right, it IS another FPS, I did enjoy it a lot, but I also want the studios to start focusing on other genres as well...there are way to many FPS's in the market...

"You do realize that one of the like two PS3 games to break a million copies is of the dreaded FPS variety"

http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=12727
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=12310
http://vgchartz.com/games/game.php?id=7547

"Oh, and that pretty much all the rest of the most popular PS3 games are shooters (R&C, CoD4, Uncharted), right? So unless you go out and buy 10 copies of Folklore or some shit, expect to see more of that poison genre."

wow, great BST, so, since you found a title that its quite enjoyable yet isn't FPS, you need to bash it? Folklore was great, and the latest DLC also add something to it, hey, while we are at it, you might as well call Zack and Wiki shit because its also one great underrated gem on the Wii.

Kangstarr @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:04PM

Call of Duty said knock you out huhhh...I'm gonna knock you out huhhh...

ill trooper @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:25PM

"Don't call it a comeback!"

baby sea tuna @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:09PM

I believe it. If I played MP shooters online more often, CoD is probably what I'd be playing. The one downside is that there's no saved vids or screenshots. That is the one thing really makes the Halo MP experience special (for consoles anyway.)

B1gC72 - PSN: KillaKornbread @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:55PM

are screenshots and saved vids really that important to a multiplayer experience? i mean i can understand if you did something crazy that'll never happen again, then a vid would be great to have but how often does that happen? does that seriously make that much difference to you in the terms of the better multiplayer experience?

oh and by the way, that is a serious question. im not trying to be an ass or anything. ive played Halo 3 and CoD4 and both are great multiplayer games. never got a chance to try out the saved vids and stuff since i just play it at friends houses. im guess im just curious as to if the saved vids and stuff are really THAT great and repeatedly useful. cause i can see a bunch of people recording themselves walking across the map or something gay and flooding the internet with that crap.

baby sea tuna @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:07PM

It's pretty much reserved for those "OMFGWTFBBQ!" moments, than your standard everyday stuff, but when you do something supercool in another game and that little voice goes off in your head that says "Damn, I wish I could show that to everyone I know!" and you can't...well, you kinda miss it.

That said, yeah, it's kind of a novelty. Albeit one that gives a little more life to the game. I mean, I've never played another game that let me freeze a moment like this: http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y94/baby_sea_tuna/Blogger/Splode1.jpg
download it to my computer, and make it my wall paper. So, it still is kind of a cool feature to have.

Mr.ESC @ Jan 22nd 2008 3:36PM

“are screenshots and saved vids really that important to a multiplayer experience? i mean i can understand if you did something crazy that'll never happen again, then a vid would be great to have but how often does that happen? does that seriously make that much difference to you in the terms of the better multiplayer experience?”

YES. Grenade to the butt, triple headshot, Laser suicide, tree reaping etc etc.
Is Just priceless. you won’t understand until you do it.

“oh and by the way, that is a serious question. im not trying to be an ass or anything. ive played Halo 3 and CoD4 and both are great multiplayer games. never got a chance to try out the saved vids and stuff since i just play it at friends houses. im guess im just curious as to if the saved vids and stuff are really THAT great and repeatedly useful. cause i can see a bunch of people recording themselves walking across the map or something gay and flooding the internet with that crap.”

You mean people showing off in youtube, youtube is full of failure but there some truly brilliant moments, I have never uploaded my videos I like to watch them alone or share them with my friends but just that. They also make great wallpapers.

Baby sea tuna: Sweet image, I have one doing a Hadoken. Okay is actually a flare passing by when I was doing a melee but the effect is impressive. I have to download it from my Xb360.

MarMar @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:10PM

its because halo 3 multiplayer is a 3 1/2 year old game while call of duty 4 multiplayer is the same thing as the more recent call of duty 3's multiplayer with some added touches and removed vehicle support.

riggs @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:11PM

CoD4 is getting most of my live activity, since most of the people i know are playing it now

NukeAssault @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:34PM

Everyone on my friends list still plays Halo. A few have COD4 but only 1 plays it regularly with me. the rest barely play it... or they rented it for like 10 mins and gave up. lol

riggs @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:16PM

I think its cause of the transition between the two. i personally love war games so thats why i play.

Mr.ESC @ Jan 22nd 2008 3:56PM

Me too the thing is that I completed the game and the only reaosn I would go online would be to get the achievements.

Now after I finish COD4 in veteran I don't think I will be playing it ever after Smash is released,hell after I finish COD4 I will play AC again and The orange box.

T3H WICKERMAN (TMNT DF) (BWF) @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:11PM

COD4 is much better imo. Level up system and fake achievements are awesome.

Mr.ESC @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:07PM

I wouldn't call them fake but they are quite easy.

Play COD4 during 5 minutes = achievement unlocked,High five 10 points.

Play COD4 during another 5 minutes = achievement unlocked-Dude you are awesome another 10 points.

Play COD4 during 10 minutes = achievement unlocked.Dude I can't believe you did it,sweet take 20 points.

And so on...

A-Troll-Named-Slickback (Yes the A Troll Named part, and yes every time!) @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:12PM

Who died and made FPS the kings of hardcore gaming? ... oh yeah platformers

B1gC72 - PSN: KillaKornbread @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:11PM

lol that's hilarious. well i still prefer platformers to FPS's but i think im in the minority...

Mr.ESC @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:48PM

I thought RPGs were Hardcore.Weird how fast things change in matter of a few years,next thing I know Brain age will be Hardcore

ZapDash @ Jan 22nd 2008 6:38PM

Online Brain Age complete with Foul Mouthed Grannies kicking the crap out of twelve year olds who can't do math.

GRANTED @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:13PM

No kidding. It's a better game.

ill trooper @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:23PM

Amen... Maybe the planet is getting smarter as it gets warmer

Spartacus @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:47PM

I honestly think H3's campaign is better, but I have yet to play CoD4 MP, so I can't make a final judgment on that aspect yet.

I own H3, I played (and beat) the campaign of CoD4 in one afternoon at a friend's house over Thanksgiving vacation and wasn't blown away. It reminded me of GRAW, but less agrivating. All in all, I'm not sure either game stands head and shoulders above the other, but Halo has sold even better than expected, so it I wouldn't discredit it too quickly.

chris @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:16PM

i love halo in campaign mode but i don't like the multiplayer. i love COD4s MP

OhJustSomeRandomGuy @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:15PM

Excellent. Another fine 'Shop.

Geo @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:17PM

Halo 3 does`nt do anything in our real world but
Call of Duty 4 defends the Bush administration with the war against terror....

baby sea tuna @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:30PM

B-b-b-ut, what about the US Army sponsored Halo Sniper School?

paragraph @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:33PM

No, it shows what a bunch of made up Marines can do when they go running into a situation with thier pants down, they end up detonating an atomic bomb, and it shows how the SAS are the real heros....

Also that Epiloge reminds us that Airplane jokes are still funny after all these years....

It's a great jab at the Bush administration... really it is...

Geo @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:56PM

Yeah as every war there are casualties...
But on the end they won the war, Hurrrayyy!!....

Obie @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:44PM

Wait? What? Turn down the retardation please, kthxbye.

ottoman673 @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:17PM

About time.

Call of Duty 4 was superior to Halo 3 in every way. Single and Multiplayer.

Mr.ESC @ Jan 22nd 2008 1:32PM

Mmmmm.

Sorta, not really.

To be honest Call of Duty 4 is awesome but the AI is not notorious for example the only difference between Rookie and Veteran in difficulty is the Number of enemies you encounter, in Rookie you have a handful of them while in Veteran well if I had to resume it in one phrase that phrase would be “Guards Increase your numbers”.

Yes your health decreases but you can still pass doing what the game wants for example, in one mission I killed more than 100 enemies in the screen then when I replay the same mission I did exactly what the game want me to do and I only eliminate 20 of them.

So the game is only hard when the number of enemies overwhelm you.

In Halo 3 the Ai is more notorious, you combat the same number of enemies in almost every difficulty but the snipers can and will kill you in Legendary in one shot and the grunts throw you grenades like there is no tomorrow and you die pretty easily.

The only advantages I see in COD4 are the Graphics, the rest is just different. I can‘t really say COD4 is superior, they are both different.

Cal @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:22PM

Halo 3 was boring, linear and had no excitement what-so-ever in the campaign, and the online? That was a joke too

First time I had pre-ordered a game on hype alone and boy was I let down, but having played the CoD4 beta I traded Haloverated 3 in for it on release day and I'm glad I did =)