It’s been – and, for the next two months – will continue to be an absolutely incredible year for gamers. We’ve gotten an amazing array of games on all available platforms – too many, some might think. Which of the fantastic releases we’ve gotten this year has had the most sales though? The answer may surprise you.
Thanks to Nintendo’s year-end financials, we’ve got the details – and according to the NPD, which charts sales in North America, the number one selling game in the US this year is party-hit, Just Dance 2 for the Wii from Ubisoft. Yup, people like to dance, apparently. It really should come as no surprise; the game’s been sitting atop sales charts since its release in October last year, printing pools of cash for Ubisoft. Don’t be too angry, “hardcore” gamers; games like this help fund things we actually want to play, like Ghost Recon, Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry. It’s not the only “active” game in the charts; Majesco’s Zumba Fitness joins it at 6, Michael Jackson: The Experience comes in at 11 and Dance Central for the Xbox 360 with Kinect secures position 14. RARE’s Kinect Sport has sold enough to sit at 18 and justify a sequel, meaning we’ll probably never, ever get Killer Instinct 3.
There are few other surprises in the list; Gears of War 3 has managed to get third place, despite only being out for less than a month (The charts are from January to September) , and the horrible Homefront’s done pretty well – but everything else is mostly the same shooters and sports games you see every year. It is nice though to see Netherealm’s Mortal Kombat, a fantastic return to form for the fighting franchise, performing well.
Here’s the NPD list.
1. Just Dance 2 – Ubisoft, Wii
2. Pokémon White – Nintendo, DS
3. Gears of War 3 – Microsoft, 360
4. Pokémon Black – Nintendo, DS
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops – Activision, 360
6. Zumba Fitness: Join The Party – Majesco, Wii
7. Madden NFL 12 – Electronic Arts, 360
8. Call of Duty: Black Ops – Activision, PS3
9. Madden NFL 12 – Electronic Arts, PS3
10. New Super Mario Bros. DS – Nintendo, DS
11. Michael Jackson: The Experience – Ubisoft, Wii
12. NBA 2K11 – 2K Sports, 360
13. L.A. Noire – Rockstar, 360
14. Dance Central – MTV Games, 360
15. Mortal Kombat – Warner Bros., PS3
16. Mortal Kombat – Warner Bros., 360
17. Homefront – THQ, 360
18. Kinect Sports – Microsoft, 360
19. NCAA Football 12 – Electronic Arts, 360
20. New Super Mario Bros. Wii – Nintendo, Wii
For those that complain that we never get to see how different the situation is in Europe, here are those very stats.
01. FIFA 12 – Electronic Arts, PS3
02. Wii Sports Resort – Nintendo, Wii
03. Pokémon White – Nintendo, DS
04. Pokémon Black – Nintendo, DS
05. Zumba Fitness – 505 Games, Wii
06. Wii Party – Nintendo, Wii
07. Just Dance 2 – Ubisoft, Wii
08. FIFA 12 – Electronic Arts, 360
09. Call of Duty: Black Ops – Activision, PS3
10. Wii Fit Plus – Nintendo, Wii
11. Mario Kart Wii – Nintendo, Wii
12. L.A. Noire – Rockstar, PS3
13. FIFA 11 – Electronic Arts, PS3
14. Gears of War 3 – Microsoft, 360
15. Gran Turismo 5 – Sony, PS3
16. LittleBigPlanet 2 – Sony, PS3
17. Killzone 3 – Sony, PS3
18. New Super Mario Bros. Wii – Nintendo, Wii
19. L.A. Noire – Rockstar, Wii
20. New Super Mario Bros. – Nintendo, DS
The obvious thing to note here is just how different the consoles perform in different territories. While Microsoft’s console has half of the best selling software in the US, there are just 2 360 games that show up in Europe’s charts – which are dominated by Sony and Nintendo software. Oh, and FIFA. It is also interesting to see just how well some Wii software’s performed this year, considering most “hardcore” gamers see it as a dead platform.
Last Updated: October 31, 2011
