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Rather like the Christmas music chart number one being a coveted position, the same principle is applied to video games - in the UK, at least. Securing top spot in the final results prior to 25th December is an extra gong to celebrate, a string for a publisher's bow.

Somewhat predictably that honour falls to Call of Duty: Black Ops III this year, and from Nintendo's perspective there was no late UK surge in sales, at least not compared to its rivals in the market. Evergreen titles did hold their positions, however.

Mario Kart 8 is still the top performer for Nintendo, securing 27th place (a fall of three positions) in the all-format results; the close proximity of Splatoon - yet again - in 29th suggests that the combined hardware bundle for both may be a decent source of those sales. Super Mario Maker holds onto 34th place, same as last week.

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer is the only 3DS game in the all-format top 40, grabbing 36th place. Meanwhile Just Dance 2016 on Wii - again, not on Wii U! - continues to shift some copies, grabbing 26th in the single-format chart. The Wii U version of the dancing game did grab fourth in the console's own chart though, and in an oddity that's probably tied to discounts and bundles Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Bros. outsold its successor on 3DS, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros..

That brings to an end an underwhelming Holiday sales period for Nintendo UK, in which sales for the country struggled to make an impact on the charts.

[source chart-track.co.uk]