November NPD: Best month ever for retail, Xbox
November is traditionally a big, big month for games, thanks to the impending holidays and the temporary financial insanity bestowed upon Americans by the Black Friday Effect. This November may have been the biggest. The NPD reports that last month was the "best November on record in terms of new physical retail sales," ahead of November 2008 by around $30 million. Call of Duty: Black Ops had the biggest first month of any game ever, with 8.4 million copies.
And Microsoft (producer of the best-selling non-DS console) tells us that with 1.37 million consoles sold, November 2010 was not only the biggest November ever for Xbox, it was the biggest month ever. Thanks, Kinect! Thanks, new hardware! Handhelds were actually down vs. previous years, though the DS was still the top-selling console, with the Mario red DSi XL representing the majority of sales. Nintendo said that "over 1.5 million" DS systems were sold last month.
After the break, check out the top-selling games of the month. You already know what's at number one, of course. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood follows at #2, with surprisingly strong showings for both Fable 3 and Donkey Kong Country Returns down the list.
Top 10 bestselling games for November 2010:
Call of Duty: Black Ops - 360, PS3,Wii, PC, DS - Activision Blizzard
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood - 360, PS3 - Ubisoft
Just Dance 2 - Wii - Ubisoft
Madden NFL 11 - 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP - EA
Fable 3 - 360 - Microsoft
Donkey Kong Country Returns - Wii - Nintendo
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit - 360, PS3, Wii, PC - EA
Gran Turismo 5 - PS3 - Sony
NBA 2K11 - 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, PC - Take-2 Interactive
Wii Fit Plus - Wii - Nintendo