NPD Group Reveals America's 2011 Best-Sellers

Cool! Although I wish some Nintendo games would be on the list. Oh well!

Wow, gaming has passed me by. Not one game in that top list do I own or would I own. Yikes. Might be time for me to pack it in and just stick with my 16-bit rig from here on out.

Just Dance 3 is the best Wii game of the year, and it's right there on the list. Nintendo really missed the boat by releasing only Zelda and not stuff like a Wii Sports successor.

"1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)"
No surprise, most people don't have fun unless they are shooting someone blowing something/someone up.

It's sad really...

Okay this is sad. With the Wii U in mind, I hope that Modern Warfare 4 will top next year's charts, hopefully for Nintendo's console... One is still allowed to have dreams, no?

Not even pokemon made it. And this year could be slower, especially with no major releases, like metroid, and Mario.

@JarvhinZheitk Yeah ,you're right, or if the graphics are super crisp HD

I guess I'm not a core gamer anymore, although I bought Pokemon White, a 3DS, six 3DS games and Skyward Sword this year.

Yes, Just Dance 3 is #2 for the year! I'm really surprised Pokemon didn't make it.

As I said on the article about the UK version of this, the Japanese version of this is so much more pleasing to look at.

Glad to see Gears of War 3 made it on the list. Easily the best multiplayer game I've played this year.

Jeez, the only game I'd consider buying on that list is Skyrim.

One could argue anymore whether the term "core gamer" refers to a static kind of gamer; I mean "core" always into a certain thing/group, or if "core gamer" now is a term that refers to a set/specific genre/taste, or market bias. Actually, the same could be argued about the term "traditional gamer", which is what I consider myself.

In the end though, terminology means little, but the game genre tastes, & behaviors of the gamers themselves do matter.

Edit: I'm more impressed by the Dec. list, than the whole of last year. But, that is just me.

4 shooters
2 open world games
2 dance games
1 WRPG
1 Sports game

Kind of wierd where gaming is going: if you look at most gaming websites most people are crticizing COD and offering Skyrim as the deep gaming alternative. For me, both alternatives are bad. I think these are the kind of experiences that are more and more going to be associated with AAA gaming. The Xbox is going to rule the living room, and Sony and Nintendo will be left fighting over more niche markets. Very sad.

Sigh....

Gaming is a dead art, only worth while game on that entire list is Skyrim....

I only own 1 game on that list, Arkham City, but then again I bought way more NES and SNES games this year then new games.

Seriously, what in the world is Just Dance 3?

@corbs: My sentiments exactly... I don't own a single game on the 2011 list. And only 2 on the Dec. list. Even Skyward Sword has failed to impress me so far. Feels like gaming is a dying hobby for me.

I personally think that a hardcore gamer is one who actually plays games...
Not just a game here or there like the new cod or whatever but actually know about gaming, have played retro and new games, and play many genres
Tis a shame many gamers think that just because you play a certain game or system automatically makes you a hard core/core gamer

Guess thats why were begging for the Wii games to come to U.S.

Boy, there sure are a lot of whiners in this comments section.

@The_Fox you should feel grateful that you have nothing to whine about.

What Corbs said, IMO that is a list of generic shooters (with slightly different stories and identical gameplay) with a sprinkle of boring RPGs and Just Dance, I miss the days when people valued fun and variety in games over online and graphics.

So Call of Duty 4.752323 is the best seller? Not surprising, sadly. Hopefully cod will run itself into the ground soon, there's only so many wars that used guns.

2 Call of Duty and 2 Just Dance games. So a majority of people have the same taste in gaming.

I will stick to my niche games like Skyward Sword then.

I don't ever see my self picking up a first person shooter game that is based on the war ( I'm talking to you COD & MW3 ). The war is dumb, pointless, and each war fought creates a new one. Also when at war you don't get a second or more chances to live. Once you die it's over. Lastly, why can't they release a chart of the year only for nintendo...maybe now would be a good time to go view that Japanese chart. Back to the topic, for all those people who are die hard fans of these games should be given a gun and some armor so they can go into the war and see how they like it.

I own many of the games on the list. I wish I had more of them (2K12). Skyrim is a great game. The others are okay depending on what kind of games you like. I enjoy playing older games like Final Fantasy Legend III for Gameboy, NES games like Crystalis, SNES games like Super Punch Out, N64 Perfect Dark, Playstation2 Soul Reaver 2, etc. I still enjoy the new games as well. I would like to think that a hardcore gamer plays games of all generations, game companies, genre of games, etc. I enjoy a lot of games, but I definitely do not enjoy the majority. There is a nostalgia to older games that will keep you connected to them. If you give some of the newer games a chance, they may also bring you back from time to time. Or not, just saying.

With how often the CoD games sell it makes you wonder when real wars will finally be fought online.

Not as discouraging a list as I thought it would be but I'm still thoroughly disappointed to see games like Batman and Gears 3 behind the likes of Call of Duty Black Ops and MW 3 (I actually like MW 3 but it's not as good as a lot of other games out there) and BF 3 and even more disappointed that Zelda: SS and SM 3D Land miss the list completely thanks to stuff like Just Dance 2 and 3. On the plus side, Mario Kart 7 and SM3DL did enjoy a great December as did Skyward Sword.

@battLeToaD: I think you just found the solution to world peace. Let's just have all our wars online and then shake virtual hands afterward.

@Moco_Loco: Who cares about world peace. The important thing is that us gamers would finally be among the most socially accepted people.
At least gaming should become Olympian as soon as possible. A decathlon in Tetris, Dr. Mario, Panel De Pon, Mario Kart, StarFox, Four Swords, The Conduit, GoldenEye, F-Zero and Fortune Street sounds quite fun.

these games would be blown out by skyward sword, 3d land, MK7, fossil fighters champs, kirby, and star fox if people saw how fun they really are