Slow December in the US

There were no surprises as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 took the top spot when the US December chart was revealed. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was also the best selling game for all of 2011. The overall picture, however, was rather bleak as December came in considerably weaker than expected. The ten year average is that December accounts for 28 percent of all sales in any given year, while it only accounted for 22 percent in 2011, and compared to 2010 sales in December dropped by a whopping 21 percent (dollar value). For the year as a whole 2011 saw a decline of 8 percent compared to 2010.

The real disappointment came on the hardware side, and even if Nintendo DS and 3DS did well it was not enough to off-set weak console sales. Xbox 360 sold a solid 1.7 million, a decline compared to last year, but still good, while Wii saw it sales halfed and Playstation 3 went down 22 percent.

Best selling games in December:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 / Multi / Activision
2. Just Dance 3 / Multi / Ubisoft
3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim / Multi / Bethesda
4. Mario Kart 7 / 3DS / Nintendo
5. Battlefield 3 / Multi / EA
6. Madden NFL 12 / Multi / EA
7. Assassin's Creed: Revelations / Multi / Ubisoft
8. NBA 2K12 / Multi / 2K Games
9. Super Mario 3D Land / 3DS / Nintendo
10. Batman: Arkham City / Multi / Warner

Hardware:
1. Xbox 360 1,700,000 units
2. Wii 1,060,000
3. Playstation 3 936,000

Source: NPD Funworld