I'd say yes, simply beacuse the Universe would be more fun, more colorfull and make for better stories that way. I'm not talking scientifically here...allot of this depends on how inanimate matter made the jump to life...very mysterious when you think about it.
BUT I'm a theist, and I think God is an artist, and he pursues effects in the Universe beacuse, among other reasons, they make for a better piece of art. I'm not God but I think ,Considering how big the universe is, and how interesting life is, the big man up stairs would not leave it all empty of life except for our tiny infentismal speck, simply beacuse the Universe would make for a better work of art full of life then almost completely empty of it.