Speaking to Reuters, Aaron Greenberg, director of product management for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live, noted that Rockstar's just released Grand Theft Auto IV will likely yield a nice boost for Microsoft's Xbox Live membership.

"The multiplayer in this game is so well implemented that I can't imagine anyone owning a copy without trying to play it on Xbox Live," he said. "GTA is unique because it appeals to such a large audience. It will likely be the best-selling game launched all year and we expect it will drive a lot of new members to Xbox Live."

Greenberg went on to speculate that GTA IV might even go on to become the most played Xbox Live title, taking the top spots from blockbuster shooters like Halo 3 and Activision's Call of Duty 4. Shooters usually dominate Xbox Live, but Reuters points out that THQ's GTA-like Saint's Row briefly held the top spot in 2006, and Crackdown from Microsoft and Realtime Worlds grabbed the second spot for a time last year.

IDC analyst Billy Pidgeon believes GTA IV could stay atop the Xbox Live charts for some time. "This has the capabilities of being more popular online than Halo 3," he commented. "I think the console, even more so than the PC, has the potential to have lots of different types of games be popular online. GTA is an important piece of that. It can lead the way online for a large contingent of players who don't play first-person shooters."

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Makes GTA even that much bigger for MS.  Best thing about xbox live for MS is I bet most that buy it get the 1 year + 1 month card so is like buying  a game every year for MS.