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NPD 2011: Sales across industry between $16.3 and $16.6 billion, Ubi tops software sales list
Assassination and dancing has proven to be a lucrative mix, as Just Dance 2 and 3 and Assassin's Creed: Revelations helped Ubisoft to lead this year's best seller's list with three entries. That's according to the NPD Group, which also estimates the video game industry's profits, comprising "new physical video and PC games, used games, game rentals, subscriptions, digital full-game downloads, social network games, downloadable content, and mobile games," reached sales of somewhere between $16.3 and $16.6 billion in 2011. Activision's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 took top honors (it's kind of a big deal), while Just Dance 3 and Skyrim occupied the second and third spots, respectively. NPD also says that, despite sales growth in the digital sector yet again, physical copies offered at retail outlets still accounted for the majority of sales coming in at $9.3 billion, "an 8 percent decline over the $10.1 billion in 2010." That decline was "partially" offset by increases in digital, mobile, and used game sales, which NPD expects to be a focus moving into 2012. "Our overall estimate of the market continues to point toward the increased imperative for deeper visibility into digital distribution than is available today, not only in the U.S. but globally," said NPD prez David McQuillan. Our waning shelf space agrees.
December NPD: MW3, Just Dance 3 and Skyrim lead an overall down month
The industry as a whole still managed to bang out $3.99 billion in combined new sales of hardware, physical software and accessories between November 27 and December 31, 2011. This is, however, a 21 percent drop year-over-year, as the industry pulled down a combined $5.07 billion during the same period in 2010. "Overall industry results are not entirely surprising given that we are on the back end of the current console lifecycle, combined with the continued digital evolution of gaming," said Anita Frazier, an analyst with The NPD Group. "Core gamers continue to be engaged and spend on established franchises across both the digital and physical format using multiple devices for different gaming occasions." A smooth $2.04 billion of that $3.99 billion total was caused entirely by new physical software sales, a dash for the cash that continues to be lead by Modern Warfare 3. The pseudo-medieval allure of November's second place podium finisher, Skyrim, was not enough to keep its throne for a second term; the Dovahkiin has been usurped by Ubisoft's compulsory neon-dancing simulator, Just Dance 3. Comparatively, Skyrim got off easy: Uncharted 3, Saints Row: The Third and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, are all absent from December's Top-10 list, just weeks after their respective releases. Skyward Sword wasn't Nintendo's only horse in this race, however, as Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land closed out December in fourth and ninth place, respectively. Overall, Nintendo, Ubisoft and Electronic Arts claimed more Top-10 real estate than their competitors, each publishing two of the month's best selling titles.
Modern Warfare 3 holiday numbers indicate franchise sales decline in UK
While the Call of Duty franchise has enjoyed year-over-year growth in terms of worldwide sales, numbers released this week for the UK tell a different story for that particular region. According to the UK's Entertainment Retailers Association, Modern Warfare 3 moved 2,814,298 units between launch on November 8 and December 31, 2011, while Call of Duty's 2010 entry, Black Ops, sold 3,266,298 across the same holiday sales period in the previous year. That's a decline of 452,000 units from Treyarch-developed Black Ops in 2010 to Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games-developed Modern Warfare 3 in 2011, though the latter was the fastest entertainment property in history to reach $1 billion in sales. As MCV points out, FIFA sales were also in decline in the UK, with nearly 200K fewer copies sold during 2011 than in 2010. All that said, let's not lose any sleep over the declines -- both CoD and FIFA's 2011 entries sold in the many millions in just the UK, let alone worldwide.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, FIFA 12 top UK sales in 2011
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.
Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling 'happy' with MW3 holiday sales, sees the game as closure to Soap story
Robert Bowling, Infinity Ward's creative strategist and face of the Call of Duty series, is excellent at his job, in that he knows how not to answer questions directly. It's a skill set shared by all variety of politicians, and not one prized among journalists. Why bother explaining this? Because when I asked Bowling about holiday sales of his studio's latest game, Modern Warfare 3, I wasn't surprised when he gave the company line ("I don't have any numbers I can share with you"), though he did allow, "I'm happy." Presumably we'll find out just how happy Bowling is when last month's NPDs arrive in a couple weeks. Rather than push the unspeakable, I turned my attention to more open topics, such as Modern Warfare 3's finale wrapping up the story of series leads John "Soap" MacTavish and Captain John Price. "Our goal with Modern Warfare 3 was definitely to get some closure on the story that we started with Call of Duty 4, and I think we've achieved that," Bowling said. While he wouldn't put a definitive end to their inclusion in the series, he did admit that MW3's campaign was intended as closure on the duo's story. That said, Bowling doesn't want to say "never" to the concept of either character reappearing in future CoD entries. "I never like to speak in definites when it comes to story design, because you never wanna not have an opening or an out," he told me. And hey, if Danny Trejo can appear as a DLC character, anything could happen, right?
Tour the killing fields of Modern Warfare 3's first DLC with latest media
You've been shooting dudes for nearly three months since Modern Warfare 3's early November launch, but that Elite pass has yet to offer more than a chance to watch your buddy Tim's lame gameplay clips. That's all about to change! The first DLC is nearly upon us, and here is your first tour.
Five Modern Warfare 3 DLC drops planned for next three months, 20 total over next nine months
On January 24, this year's Call of Duty DLC season kicks off on Xbox Live with other platforms to follow. Elite subscribers on Xbox 360 will have first access the new content as part of their paid membership. Infinity Ward's Robert Bowling confirmed with Joystiq the content schedule for Modern Warfare 3 and it's unsurprisingly extensive. Following the first multiplayer maps later this month ("Liberation" and "Piazza"), the plan is to offer five total DLC packages over the course of the next three months. Within the next nine months, up to September, there should be a total of 20 pieces of downloadable content available to players. A "Content Collection" in March will bundle the previously released DLC on Xbox Live for non-Elite users. "The first pack is traditional multiplayer maps, but we want to do Spec Ops missions, missions, Spec-Ops Survival, new game types, new game modes, and really look at adding things that we've never done before," Bowling said. He said that the focus across all three studios involved -- Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software -- has been to experiment with the formula this time around, to offer players content other than map pack dumps. "We said just do what you think is gonna be good. Do what's fun and, as long is fits in the Modern Warfare universe, try it! Experiment with it, and we'll take the best of the best and start polishing it up and releasing it. So that's really where our focus has been," Bowling concluded.
PSA: Call of Duty Elite iOS App now available
As promised, the Call of Duty Elite app for iOS is now available via the iTunes App Store, and just like its console counterpart, it's totally free. The Elite app offers a chance for Modern Warfare 3 players to track stats, player progression, revisit past matches, and a variety of other services, though we're told it's all the more thrilling if you're paying for the annual Elite subscription. The application is expected to arrive on Android devices next week.
Call of Duty Elite's mobile app launches tomorrow on iOS, next week on Android
You're standing in line for lunch, replaying last night's match on Arkaden in Modern Warfare 3 in your mind, when you remember the final shot -- you really wanted that gun. You could wait until you get home, check your recent matches on Elite and shank the winning shooter's weapon of choice -- like a peasant -- or you could do it right there, in line, on your phone -- like a boss. This is the vision Beachhead Studios head Chacko Sonny has for Call of Duty Elite's free mobile app, hitting iOS smart phones tomorrow, Jan. 10, and Android one week later. The Elite app will offer four main areas of mobile control: Career summary: Just like Elite main, check stats and general player information on yourself and others you've played Recent matches: After-action report on the past 10 matches, including scores, kill/death ratios, map information for yourself and others in the match Challenge Tracker: Tracks your progress through specific challenges Customize classes: Modify your loadout -- weapons, perks, attachments -- and push custom classes directly to game Anything altered in the Elite mobile app that affects loadouts or in-game options will be exported to console, and players will accept the changes after logging on. Most of the app's functions have been modified to fit a smaller screen, especially Sonny's favorite, class customization. Beachhead Studios developers have been testing the mobile app on their own phones, and Sonny said it expands the realm of bragging rights considerably because players will have proof -- or not -- of their achievements right in their pockets.
Best of the Rest: Griffin's picks of 2011
LittleBigPlanet 2 How fitting that for my last contribution to Joystiq's Game of the Year list, I should learn the bitter sting of having my number one choice not breach the Top 10. LittleBigPlanet 2 improved upon the original -- already one of my favorite games of all time -- in every conceivable way, offering one of the most user-friendly, charming UGC systems in gaming history. There is nothing I've thought of that LBP2 wasn't able to create, and that includes a level about interstellar poultry abduction.
Best of the Rest: Arthur's picks of 2011
Battlefield 3 I love Battlefield 3. I love it almost as much as it seems to hate its players. At least, that's the way it feels sometimes, trying to get into a game, trying to get correctly squaded up, trying to find a server with room, having to use a server browser on consoles in 2011, downloading 2 GIGABYTE patches ... y u no luv me, BF3? But when it does love me, it loves me so well ... and there I go, into that cycle of abuse again.
Best of the Rest: Jess' picks of 2011
To the Moon Sometimes we play games to ease real-life frustrations, to cure boredom, to slaughter enemies or to participate in a captivating story. To the Moon, developed by Freebird Games, can do all of these things. It doesn't require you to murder any foes, although its very foundation is in death, and it offers a soothing, philosophical story with more depth than its pixelated graphics initially suggest. As a point-and-click adventure, To the Moon is more of an interactive tale than a full-on game, yet it is so engaging that the lack of quests, boss fights or bullets becomes irrelevant. To the Moon chronicles the last day of an old man's life, but that day includes a Benjamin Button-style adventure through his past as a duo of snarky scientists attempt to change his memories. Why? So that his final wish can come true, at least in his mind, before he dies. In the end, To the Moon is a beautiful and complex love story and, though I don't want to give the entire plot away, I'll tell you his final wish has something to do with interstellar travel.
FIFA 12 finishes year atop UK charts, Old Republic slides way down
Chart-Track's UK sales chart for the week ending December 31, 2011, is up, showing the family-friendly footie time (don't go to a dark place, don't go to a dark place!) of FIFA closing out the year as champion. Nearly every game in the top eight held its position from the Christmas Eve list, except for Battlefield 3, which twirled Just Dance 3 around to take its spot in third. Chart-Track notes this is the second year in a row that the FIFA franchise has held the top spot during the final week. It's also the fourth time FIFA 12 has scored a first place finish, tying with FIFA 10 and FIFA 11's glory days. Star Wars: The Old Republic takes one of the largest dips we've seen on the charts, going from tenth place during launch week to 38. This would certainly be a time to call in the Ewoks for reinforcements, if it weren't for Old Republic being a PC game. It's reasonable to guess many sales are occurring through EA's Origin digital distribution network.
Modern Warfare 3 hides an angry bear wearing a tutu
And why wouldn't it?
First Modern Warfare 3 DLC drops January 24 on Xbox [update: first screen]
Speaking on the Call of Duty Elite program, "Roll Call," Infinity Ward community guru Robert Bowling revealed that the first batch of Modern Warfare 3 DLC will be available next month. Specifically, Bowling announced that the "full season of content for Modern Warfare 3 kicks off for Elite subscribers January 24th on Xbox Live." As usual, expect the DLC to remain exclusive to Xbox for some time before launching on PS3 and PC. Bowling didn't drop details on what the first batch of content would contain, though he did hint MW3 DLC would cover a wide spectrum, including Spec Ops and "a variety of things that players have never seen before." All of this is made possible by the massive development team, featuring Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer and Raven Software. Oh, and if you're having trouble finding this particular video on Call of Duty Elite, it might be because it's in the Elite TV section, which is reserved for premium (read: "paid") members. Update: Bowling has tweeted an image from the upcoming DLC, a map known simply as "Park." It's worth mentioning that Park was mentioned in a rumored leak late last month. Other maps mentioned included Overwatch, Cement, Italy and (ahem) Morningwood.
12 Days of Joyswag: Modern Warfare 3 Hardened Edition and Munitio headphones
Another year, another 12 days of holiday giveaways! Between now and Christmas Day, we're doing the one thing that makes us feel truly alive: giving. Specifically, we're giving you fine folks some of the swag we've managed to collect in our cluttered home offices. And the good will and merriment doesn't stop here! Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook for even more chances to win! Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. It's the biggest game of the year but something tells us that at least one of you still hasn't picked it up. And for that person, we've got the Hardened Edition on Xbox 360 along with a pair of MW3-themed Munitio headphones which, while they won't work with your console at all, will illustrate your brand allegiance to everyone outside your home.
It's a Skyrim Christmas on the UK charts
Skyrim rested high atop the UK charts last week, breaking an eight year stint by EA and Activision. Bethesda's massive RPG occupied the top spot during week 51 -- dubbed the "Christmas Chart" by Chart-Track. Take-Two's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City owned the chart in 2002, prior to EA's Medal of Honor: Rising Sun and Activision's Call of Duty franchise. Just Dance 3 came in about 15,000 units behind Skyrim. Followers of the charts can probably predict what's coming in the new year, as the Just Dance series has been a sleeping giant that rises once the holidays are over for the past two years. The rest of the top ten (after the break) consists of the usual suspects. When the UK charts return in the new year we'll find out how Star Wars: The Old Republic did during its Christmas week launch.
Modern Warfare 3 adds Community Playlists, title update
Modern Warfare 3 players are in for a few treats today. First off, Activision's blockbuster has been updated with multiplayer playlist tweaks and an entirely new mode. Dubbed "Drop Zone," the latter tasks players with capturing and holding a ... drop zone. The team with the most players in the zone will receive a care package every fifteen seconds. The twist: Earning care packages is the only way to achieve pointstreaks. Drop Zone marks the first entry in the new Community Playlists section, which will play host to "popular or unique private match modes" created by users themselves. The second playlist change is the addition of Hardcore Headquarters Ricochet to the Hardcore playlist. Furthermore, all Hardcore modes will now feature ricochet, meaning that all friendly fire will be reflected back to the attacker. In other words: Shooting a teammate is basically shooting yourself. Finally, Infinity Ward community guru Robert Bowling has tweeted that a title update will be available today to address "Host Disadvantage" / "Lag Compensation."
Infinity Ward issuing Modern Warfare 3 bans that last 5000 days
Infinity Ward is issuing its version of a "permaban" to offensive Modern Warfare 3 players, in the form of a ban lasting 5000 days. "If you see this message," IW Creative Strategist Robert Bowling confirmed on Twitter, "it means you've been Permabanned (for something bad)." Really, when you think about it, IW is being charitable to cheaters and other malcontents by issuing bans lasting only 13 and a half years. That's not really permanent at all! Maybe you should thank Infinity Ward for its beneficence by not hacking your game or being outrageously racist. Otherwise, you'll be thinking about how to live your life until you turn 26.
Redbox reveals top rentals of 2011
Ubiquitous disc kiosk dispensary Redbox has shared its top game rentals of 2011, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for Xbox 360 commanding the top spot. It's no surprise that Modern Warfare 3, which earned $775 million at retail in a week, would also find itself again in fifth place with the PS3 version. It was, like, the biggest game launch ever. Ubisoft has two members of its successful Just Dance franchise on the Redbox list, with Just Dance 3 and Smurfs Dance Party in fifth and seventh spots, respectively. Surprise summer hit Dead Island rounds out the top three. The game's rocky launch may have scared off some purchases, but that didn't stop Deep Silver (and Square Enix) from shipping millions of copies of the game. This was Redbox's first "official" year of game rentals, expanding its test market of 5,000 last year to nearly 27,000 kiosks nationwide over the summer. Check out the full top ten after the break.
