Modern Warfare 3, Xbox 360 top US 2011 charts

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the best-selling game in the USA during 2011, according to sales tracker The NPD Group.

Just Dance 3 came in second, followed by The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Battlefield 3 and Madden NFL 12.

The full top 10 was as follows:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC) - Activision Blizzard
2. Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360, PS3) - Ubisoft
3. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (360, PS3, PC) - Bethesda Softworks
4. Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC) - Electronic Arts
5. Madden NFL 12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2) - Electronic Arts
6. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PC) - Activision Blizzard
7. Batman: Arkham City (360, PS3, PC) - Warner Bros. Interactive
8. Gears of War 3 (360) - Microsoft
9. Just Dance 2 (Wii) - Ubisoft
10. Assassin's Creed: Revelations (360, PS3, PC) - Ubisoft

Xbox 360 was the biggest-selling console of the year. "Despite larger percentage decreases versus last year, the Wii and the PS3 were neck and neck in second place for Annual 2011," noted NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

Preliminary NPD estimates put the total consumer spend on gaming in 2011 at somewhere between $16.3 and $16.6 billion. That represents around a two per cent drop on 2010.

Modern Warfare 3 was also the top seller during the month of December (as it was in November) again followed by Just Dance 3 and Skyrim.

Mario Kart 7 scored the highest new entry at number four, with Super Mario 3D Land sneaking into the top 10 at nine, after debuting outside the chart in November.

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC) - Activision Blizzard
2. Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360, PS3) - Ubisoft
3. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (360, PS3, PC) - Bethesda Softworks
4. Mario Kart 7 (3DS) 4 Nintendo
5. Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC) - Electronic Arts
6. Madden NFL 12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2) - Electronic Arts
7. Assassin's Creed: Revelations (360, PS3, PC) - Ubisoft
8. NBA 2K12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2, PC) - Take 2 Interactive
9. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) - Nintendo
10. Batman: Arkham City (360, PS3, PC) - Warner Bros. Interactive

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword would have finished 10th if the chart was based on single SKUs rather than combined platform sales.

Skylanders would have finished fourth if you were to combine sales of software bundles with the character packs tracked in the accessories sales category.

Hardware sales figures are still coming in, though Microsoft has announced it sold 1.7 million Xbox 360s. We'll update when Nintendo and Sony chime in.

Frazier noted that the only platforms to see a month-on-month increase during December were the 3DS and DS, "which is highly unusual since typically all platforms enjoy a lift in the biggest month at retail."