When breaking down some of the stats for the performance of the Xbox 360 throughout 2012, one thing that became the centerpiece of attention was the success of Xbox Live Arcade. One of the things that actually made Xbox Live such a success in 2012 was actually the indie-title game Minecraft.

Research and data marketing firm Forecasting & Analyzing Digital Entertainment (FADE) released some numbers for the Xbox Live platform, following the poor numbers of the Xbox 360’s performance in 2012. The Xbox Live division racked up an impressive $290 million in revenue throughout 2012 but $97.4 million of that was attributed to Minecraft, which moved an impressive 500,000 digital units in December alone. In a distant second was Trials Evolution and TellTale’s Walking Dead came in third place.

Minecraft‘s success is contributed to some unusual features, such as mode of multiplayer split-screen, a slightly different interface, tutorials and the option to play with friends on Xbox Live. Minecraft bought almost 5 million players, which resulted in nearly 100 million incomes. The large communities of players who contributed to the success of Minecraft have made Markus “Notch” Persson, the creator of the game, richer by $101 million.

“Minecraft has become more than just an indie game hit,” says Kyt Dotson, SiliconANGLE editor and gamer; “it’s a social phenomenon that has struck a chord with gamers and educators across the world. It provides a thriving ecosystem for players to reveal their creativity and build their own worlds in a virtual space.” A hack to Minecraft even became the focus of an exploit that highlighted questions of online identity.

It only took until July 2012 for Minecraft to exceed 3 million copies sold over Xbox Live.

The second big hit was The Walking Dead, downloaded over 2.5 million times, and followed by Trials Evolution downloaded over one million times. Trials Evolution secured an estimated $14.3 million USD and adventure game series The Walking Dead secured a $10.3 million USD in revenues.

Apart from the six year life of Xbox 360, Microsoft’s digital distribution service Xbox Live Arcade continues to grow incredibly well, demonstrating the importance of digital business. Gamers this generation have enjoyed the Xbox Live Arcade service, which is rich in all manner of genres and providing blockbusters games available on a convenient service offering attractive prices.

The list:

• Minecraft (4J Studios) – 4,997,000 Units / $97,388,000
• Trials Evolution (RedLynx, LTD) – 1,002,000 Units / $14,298,000
• The Walking Dead (TellTale Games) – 2,615,000 Units / $10,277,000
• Counterstrike: GO (Valve) – 273,000 Units / $3,973,000
• Castle Crashers (The Behemoth) – 252,000 Units / $3,778,000
• Gotham City Impostors (Monolith Productions) – 258,000 / $3,698,000
• I Am Alive (Ubisoft) – 245,000 Units / $3,609,000
• Tony Hawk’s PS HD (Robomodo) – 226,000 Units / $3,261,000
• Alan Wake’s American Nightmare (Remedy Entertainment) – 206,000 Units / $2,903,000
• Trials HD (RedLynx, LTD) – 203,000 / $2,799,000