Major Nelson, the individual now synonymous with Xbox and Xbox LIVE, has a special note for everybody:

“Ok, you can stop finding things to keep you busy…LIVE is back. I am happy to report that the Xbox Live Maintenance is now complete which means that Xbox LIVE is back online, and you can now resume posting in the Xbox forums. Thanks again for your patience during this maintenance.”

In honour of LIVE going live again, he has also released the LIVE activity ratings, which is a handy way of knowing just what games are being played on the service and what’s proving to be popular in the world of online Xbox gaming. This week? Halo 3, in its long, hard-fought battle for supremacy against the equally outstanding Call of Duty 4, has proven itself victorious, ending up at No. 1 this week. Next week though? Who knows.

Click on through for the full listing for the week of September 22nd:

LIVE Activity for week of September 22nd

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles (based on Unique Users)

• 1 Halo 3
• 2 Call of Duty 4
• 3 GTA IV
• 4 Gears of War
• 5 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
• 6 Madden NFL 09
• 7 Guitar Hero III
• 8 Rock Band 2
• 9 Rock Band
• 10 Duke Nukem 3D

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions purchased)

• 1 Duke Nukem 3D
• 2 Castle Crashers
• 3 Feeding Frenzy 2
• 4 Braid
• 5 Domino Master
• 6 Geometry Wars Evolved²
• 7 Fable® II Pub Games
• 8 UNO
• 9 BC:Rearmed
• 10 DOOM

The above arcade list is based on full versions purchased.

Original Xbox Top Live Titles (based on Unique Users)

• 1 Halo 2
• 2 Star Wars: Battlfrnt 2
• 3 Fable
• 4 Counter-Strike
• 5 Fable: Lost Chapters
• 6 Battlefield 2: MC
• 7 Splinter Cell Chaos
• 8 Conker: Live Reloaded
• 9 Call of Duty 3
• 10 Street Fighter Anniv.