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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, FIFA 12 top UK sales in 2011

Alexander Sliwinski
News Content Director
Updated ·6 min read


Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was easily the best-selling game in the UK for 2011. Data released today by UKIE (compiled by Chart-Track) has Activision's behemoth franchise grossing a record-breaking £83 million in sales during its first week, which also turned out to be the biggest week of video game sales ever in the UK at £121m. The year 2011 was also the third year in a row Activision had the top-selling game -- and all from the same franchise, fancy that -- with Call of Duty: Black Ops in 2010 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in 2009.

EA took both the silver and bronze with FIFA 12 and Battlefield 3, respectively. Both titles had stellar opening weeks in the UK and have consistently performed well in the all formats top ten since launch.

The number four game for the year was Zumba Fitness, which should come as little surprise to anyone who followed our "summer of disbelief." The launch of the fitness title for the Wii kept the game atop the all formats chart for longer than we would have thought, but on the Wii chart it remained in first for a record-breaking 28 consecutive weeks.

Find the all formats and console-specific chart toppers for 2011 after the break.


All Formats

  1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

  2. FIFA 12

  3. Battlefield 3

  4. Zumba Fitness

  5. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

  6. Just Dance 3

  7. Assassin's Creed: Revelations

  8. L.A. Noire

  9. Saints Row: The Third

  10. Batman: Arkham City

Nintendo Wii

  1. Zumba Fitness

  2. Just Dance 3

  3. Just Dance 2

  4. Mario Kart Wii

  5. Wii Sports Resort

Sony PlayStation 3

  1. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

  2. FIFA 12

  3. Battlefield 3

  4. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

  5. Assassins Creed: Revelations

Xbox 360

  1. Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

  2. FIFA 12

  3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

  4. Battlefield 3

  5. Gears of War 3

Nintendo DS

  1. Professor Layton And The Spectre's Call

  2. Pokemon White Version

  3. Pokemon Black Version

  4. Art Academy

  5. Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo

Sony PSP

  1. FIFA 12

  2. FIFA 11

  3. Motorstorm: Arctic Edge

  4. Gran Turismo

  5. Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines

2011 Nintendo 3DS

  1. Super Mario 3D Land

  2. Mario Kart 7

  3. The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time 3D

  4. Nintendogs + Cats: Golden Retriever

  5. Rayman 3D

PC Games

  1. Football Manager 2012

  2. Football Manager 2011

  3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

  4. The Sims 3

  5. Battlefield 3


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UKIE reveals best-selling video games of 2011

11th January, 2011 - London, United Kingdom – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 ends year as best selling video game of 2011.

Last year, 2011, turned into another blockbuster 12 months for Activision as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 ended the year as the best-selling video game topping the coveted 2011 All Formats Chart, according to data released today by UKIE (compiled by GfK Chart-Track). This makes 3 years in a row for Activision as the publisher also made No1 in 2010 with Call of Duty: Black Ops and in 2009 with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has continued to set new records since its release in November last year, grossing a record-breaking £83 million in its first week of sales, which was also the biggest grossing week of all time for video games software at £121m.

EA also had a strong year with the No2 and No3 games FIFA 12 and Battlefield 3. FIFA 12, the latest version of EA's football game kick-started the market at the end of September last year, selling around 1m units in the UK in just 2 days. Meanwhile, Battlefield 3 became the most successful alternative to Activision's Call of Duty series and remains within the Top 10 of the most successful week 1 launch titles in the UK.

At No4 is 505 Games' Zumba Fitness, mostly thanks to the release in 2011 of the Wii version - overall sales on Wii, 360, PS3 meant that the title topped the All Formats Chart 13 times in 2011, but on the Wii chart, the title ruled for record-breaking 28 consecutive weeks in 2011.

Bethesda's critically acclaimed The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim takes No5 and is the publisher's most successful title ever and a first Top 10 All Formats placing over a year, even taking No3 on the Xbox 360 and PC Games individual format charts.

Ubisoft's strong performance in 2011 is highlighted at No6 and No7 with Just Dance 3 and Assassin's Creed: Revelations.

Completing the Top 10 is Take 2 at No8 with L.A. Noire, THQ at No9 with Saints Row: The Third and Warner at No10 with Batman: Arkham City.

New for 2011 was the Nintendo 3DS, gaining a separate chart from DS and topped by Nintendo's most popular franchise, Super Mario 3D Land.

On DS the latest Professor Layton And The Spectre's Call carries on a 3 year tradition of being the No1 DS game (2010 was Professor Layton And The Lost Future, 2009 was Professor Layton And The Curious Village).

UKIE CEO, Jo Twist said, "In a year when overall consumer spending was down, the launch of so many high-quality titles showed that there was still strength in the UK's boxed-product games market. However, whilst the boxed product market still remains a key revenue stream, digital is where much future growth lies and it is therefore vital that we understand the size of this market. UKIE's Digital Charts, launching this year, will be a step towards measuring digital revenues. I'd urge all games developers and publishers who want to get involved in creating these charts to join UKIE's digital group."
Dorian Bloch, Business Group Director at GfK Chart-Track said, "2011 finished strongly for the traditional console gaming markets thanks to the arrival of 3DS to re-invigorate the hand-held gaming arena and also the notable UK phenomenon of Xbox 360, which sold more software both in units and revenue than any year since its launch back in 2005. Most of the All Formats Top 10 best-sellers of 2011 were released in Q4 which meant that for the first time over half of the entire year's software revenue occurred in just the last quarter of the year".
2011 All Formats Chart
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
FIFA 12
Battlefield 3
Zumba Fitness
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Just Dance 3
Assassin's Creed: Revelations
L.A. Noire
Saints Row: The Third
Batman: Arkham City
2011 Nintendo Wii Chart
Zumba Fitness
Just Dance 3
Just Dance 2
Mario Kart Wii
Wii Sports Resort
2011 Sony PlayStation 3 Chart
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
FIFA 12
Battlefield 3
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Assassins Creed: Revelations






2011 XBox 360 Chart
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
FIFA 12
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Battlefield 3
Gears of War 3
2011 Nintendo DS Chart
Professor Layton And The Spectre's Call
Pokemon White Version
Pokemon Black Version
Art Academy
Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo
2011 Sony PSP Chart
FIFA 12
FIFA 11
Motorstorm: Arctic Edge
Gran Turismo
Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines
2011 Nintendo 3DS Chart
Super Mario 3D Land
Mario Kart 7
The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time 3D
Nintendogs + Cats: Golden Retriever
Rayman 3D
2011 PC Games
Football Manager 2012
Football Manager 2011
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Sims 3
Battlefield 3


- ENDS -