December 2011 NPD Results

We might be in the year 2012 now, but that doesn't mean we cannot take a look back at 2011. That is exactly what we're going to do with the NPD, showcasing the last month of sales in the United States. Which titles performed the best? Let's find out! Data courtesy of NeoGAF.

NPD Group's U.S. Games Industry Sales (New Physical Sales Channel*) - December 2011 & Annual 2011
5- week month; December retail reporting period 11/27/11 through 12/31/11

Software:

December 2011 Top 10 Games (New Physical Retail only; across all platforms incl. PC) Rank Publisher
1.) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)** 1 Activision Blizzard
2.) Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360, PS3) 2 Ubisoft
3.) Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (360, PS3, PC)** 3 Bethesda Softworks
4.) Mario Kart 7 (3DS) 4 Nintendo
5.) Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC)** 5 Electronic Arts
6.) Madden NFL 12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2)** 6 Electronic Arts
7.) Assassin's Creed: Revelations (360, PS3, PC) 7 Ubisoft
8.) NBA 2K12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2, PC) 8 Take 2 Interactive
9.) Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) 9 Nintendo
10.) Batman: Arkham City (360, PS3, PC)** 10 Warner Bros. Interactive

Annual 2011 Top 10 Games (New Physical Retail only; across all platforms incl. PC) Rank Publisher
1.) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)** 1 Activision Blizzard
2.) Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360, PS3) 2 Ubisoft
3.) Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (360, PS3, PC)** 3 Bethesda Softworks
4.) Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC)** 4 Electronic Arts
5.) Madden NFL 12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2)** 5 Electronic Arts
6.) Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PC)** 6 Activision Blizzard
7.) Batman: Arkham City (360, PS3, PC)** 7 Warner Bros. Interactive
8.) Gears of War 3 (360)** 8 Microsoft
9.) Just Dance 2 (Wii) 9 Ubisoft
10.) Assassin's Creed: Revelations (360, PS3, PC) 10 Ubisoft

**(includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware)

Hardware:

Xbox 360: Over 1.7 Million (-8.6%) [Best selling platform for the full year.]
Wii: 1.06 Million (-55%)
PS3: ~936K (-22.6%) [Math from 46% of console sales are Xbox 360 and above numbers.]

Call of Duty is a monster of a franchise that appeals to males young and old as well as some of the female persuasion. Speaking of monster franchises, how about that Just Dance? I'm guessing the Wii version of Just Dance 3 sold the best as evident by seeing Just Dance 2 in the top ten of games sold for 2011. Skyrim (hopefully not the PS3 version) sold well enough to reach third place with Mario Kart 7 coming in across the finish line in fourth. I can only imagine the legs that will come from that title. Super Mario 3D Land also charted, another 3DS exclusive. Does this mean that the 3DS is out of the danger zone?

Hardware-wise nothing has really changed. Kinect helped the 360, Wii is on cruise control, and the PS3 camp is doing fine, too. I'll update the 3DS, DS, and PSP numbers if and when they show up.