November NPD Numbers See Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim On Top

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As you may have already guessed, November 2011 was a good month for video games. This is hardly surprising, of course, considering that some major blockbusters like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim hit shelves in November, but NPD analyst Anita Frazier says that last month was the best November on record for sales of new physical content.

Concerning hardware sales, the Xbox 360 had a better month than all of them, with Frazier saying that the gap between the Xbox 360 and the second best selling console was the largest gap the NPD group has seen since 2008, when the Nintendo DS topped the charts. Microsoft is reporting that it sold 1.7 million 360s last month, which is a very impressive year over year increase of 23%.

Even though Microsoft found itself sitting pretty on top of the charts, November wasn’t a bad month for Nintendo either, with the big N reporting 860,000 Wii sales and 795,000 3DS sales. Sony, unfortunately, declined to comment on how many PS3s were sold in November.

Moving on to software sales, literally no one is surprised to see Modern Warfare 3 top the list of November’s best selling games. What is surprising, however, is to see The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim push Battlefield 3 out of the number two spot. That isn’t to say Skyrim doesn’t deserve to be at the top of the list, but rather, when looking at how well Oblivion sold just after release, seeing its sequel climb the charts so quickly is a welcome surprise.

Battlefield 3, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, and Just Dance 3 round out the top five best selling games of November 2011. Here’s the full top 10 list:

1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, WII, PC)
2. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (360, PS3, PC)
3. Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC)
4. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (360, PS3, PC)
5. Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360)
6. Madden NFL 12 (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP)
7. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (PS3)
8. Saints Row: The Third (360, PS3, PC)
9. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii)
10. Batman: Arkham City (360, PS3)

Sadly, some of the year’s best games, such as Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversay, Rayman Origins, Sonic Generations, and Super Mario 3D Land couldn’t manage to break into the top ten. Keep in mind that their absence doesn’t mean that they aren’t selling well, as the competition for a spot on that list is more fierce than it’s been all year. It just goes to show that releasing your game in the busy autumn months will always be an uphill battle unless your game can be considered the best of the best.

What do you make of these numbers? Are you surprised to see any of those games make the top 10? Head down to the comments section to share your thoughts!