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A Breakdown Of The U.S. And Europe’s Best Selling Games This Year

By Ishaan . October 29, 2011 . 12:15pm

Nintendo’s financial results briefing revealed some information that isn’t seen by the public all too often — a breakdown of the best-selling games in the U.S. and Europe, platform by platform, from January – September 2011.

You can find both charts below. We’ll start with the U.S. chart:

Rank	Title	System	Publisher
01.	Just Dance 2	Wii	Ubisoft
02.	Pokémon White	DS	Nintendo
03.	Gears of War 3	360	Microsoft
04.	Pokémon Black	DS	Nintendo
05.	Call of Duty: Black Ops	360	Activision Blizzard
06.	Zumba Fitness: Join the Party	Wii	Majesco
07.	Madden NFL 12	360	Electronic Arts
08.	Call of Duty: Black Ops	PS3	Activision Blizzard
09.	Madden NFL 12	PS3	Electronic Arts
10.	New Super Mario Bros.	DS	Nintendo
11.	Michael Jackson: The Experience	Wii	Ubisoft
12.	NBA 2K11	360	2K Sports
13.	L.A. Noire	360	Rockstar
14.	Dance Central	360	MTV Games
15.	Mortal Kombat	PS3	Warner Bros.
16.	Mortal Kombat	360	Warner Bros.
17.	Homefront	360	THQ
18.	Kinect Sports	360	Microsoft
19.	NCAA Football 12	360	Electronic Arts
20.	New Super Mario Bros. Wii	Wii	Nintendo

And here’s the European chart, which encompasses the U.K, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Austria and Switzerland:

Rank	Title	System	Publisher
01.	FIFA 12	PS3	Electronic Arts
02.	Wii Sports Resort	Wii	Nintendo
03.	Pokémon White	DS	Nintendo
04.	Pokémon Black	DS	Nintendo
05.	Zumba Fitness	Wii	505 Games
06.	Wii Party	Wii	Nintendo
07.	Just Dance 2	Wii	Ubisoft
08.	FIFA 12	360	Electronic Arts
09.	Call of Duty: Black Ops	PS3	Activision Blizzard
10.	Wii Fit Plus	Wii	Nintendo
11.	Mario Kart Wii	Wii	Nintendo
12.	L.A. Noire	PS3	Rockstar
13.	FIFA 11	PS3	Electronic Arts
14.	Gears of War 3	360	Microsoft
15.	Gran Turismo 5	PS3	Sony
16.	LittleBigPlanet 2	PS3	Sony
17.	Killzone 3	PS3	Sony
18.	New Super Mario Bros. Wii	Wii	Nintendo
19.	L.A. Noire	360	Rockstar
20.	New Super Mario Bros.	DS	Nintendo

Read more stories about Nintendo DS & PlayStation 3 & Wii & Xbox 360 on Siliconera.

http://www.youtube.com/user/jodecideion?feature=mhum TheWon and Only
When it comes to the US market the 360 is by far is the most popular HD console. Yet in the PAL Regions the PS3 is the HD Console of choice.
On a final note if your wondering why Nintendo had the low profit issue this quarter. Just look at Nintendo’s made software sales in the US. Only 4 games listed on the chart. Compared that to 8 games listed for the PAL Regions. Nintendo has always been able to counter lack of hardware sells with software. The US market took a hit with a lack of must buy Nintendo made Wii games.

kylehyde
I have to say Thank you Reggie (and NOA directive), thanks for nothing, literally.
Your are right if I remember well it was the american region where nintendo took more damage.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_2UQZFOZSMYND4QQWBXHZPPXNKA Vampiric
you mean like how they published more rpgs, platformers, puzzlers than any other gen?

Enma_Kozato
Were they RPGS, Platformers, and Puzzlers I wanted to play?
Personally, no.

http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/members/55321.html FinalArcadia
It’s gotten to the point where I want to live in Europe, just because they seem to have better taste in video games. And Sonic the Hedgehog is quite popular there, so I’d fit right in, lol!
Anyway, Nintendo doesn’t seem to space out its big releases very well. It always seems like there’s a long gap of waiting for the next big Mario/Zelda on consoles…and then they come out at the same time. Slowly releasing big titles rather than lumping them together would work out better.

http://twitter.com/StizzyStrawHat Stizzy Straw Hat
FIFA 12 is hella fun. Virtual Pro with good teammates is a wonderful experience.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Kamek20xxExtra?feature=mhee Michael Stevens
WOW! GO POKEMON WHITE! I have that as well! Props to Nintendo, but I’m shocked that Mortal Kombat is low in the US chart and not even listed in the European charts. Warner Bros….. I just want to hug you guys. :C

Solomon_Kano
With Arkham City doing well right now, WB should be good. Still, it is disappointing that MK didn’t do [even] better. It did great, but seeing it below a Zumba game… *sigh*

Go2hell66
i didn’t buy any of those games
http://twitter.com/RefueledPants Jordan Slovsaki
Shooters and sports games, oh boy. I wonder what kind of games we would have if the creative and original core gamer titles were the ones that broke the millions instead of this half-assed casual garbage. Developers and even publishers would be focused on pushing the envelope and making the best game possible instead of rehashing crap that the average public is stupid enough to pay for year after year. Not that there aren’t developers like that, but they are lost in a sea of plastic guitars, sports title X, military pew pews, and farmvilles/cowclickers.

LezardValeth
I want you to bear my children….

indigozeal
This comment is both hilarious and horrifically disturbing taken in-character.

http://www.siliconera.com Ishaan
I’m sure a lot of people could and would say the same about the kinds of games you like, too. It’s just a matter of personal preference is all. There is no “fact” to what you’re saying.

http://twitter.com/RefueledPants Jordan Slovsaki
The only games I’ve bought and enjoyed with the last year are El Shaddai, Catherine, Trails in the Sky, The Witcher 2, and Bulletstorm. I don’t think any sane person can accuse those games of being generic or cash grabs. If you really don’t think that rehashed shooters sports and workout games are flooding the market with 5% new content each year, your in denial. I used to like the shooter genre, before it was about adding killstreaks, xp, perks, and calling it a day. You can’t deny that the market is getting more and more over saturated with games that are more and more similar every year.

http://twitter.com/FaithlessMr Bruno Silva
I wish you were wrong, I really did, but yeah, you’re right. It’s painful to just look at most of the tittles in the top positions in these charts.
aoihana
To be honest, I see a lot more than “shooters and sports games” on these charts. I see RPG adventure, music and rhythm, health and wellness, racing, platformers etc.
As for rehashing games, I suppose there are those few that would really fall under your generalization, but there are those that allow for improvement, new characters, features, etc. Using your logic, I suppose they should’ve stopped at Madden NFL ’95? Or Call of Duty 2?
Like you[or at least I assume], I don’t really like sports or shooting games, but I wouldn’t go the extent of calling them garbage, or any game for that matter. They’re perfectly legitimate games catered to a certain audience. Just because we don’t necessarily like them, doesn’t mean they’re garbage.
http://twitter.com/Paradox_me Paradox me
Plastic guitars, sports titles and military shooters were creative and original at one point. They got to where they are now because they were popular.
Popularity causes publishers to stick to a winning formula and that in turn creates imitators hoping to get in on that action. Saturation follows and then we complain about it in the Internet.
It’d be no different with any other genre, except that if it were one of your favorites it would be considered a good thing.

http://twitter.com/RefueledPants Jordan Slovsaki
For a time, I was so into shooters, particularly gears of war, I wouldn’t buy or play any other games. For some people it was wow, others call of duty, etc. For me it was gears. Now, I can barely stand to look at shooters. Used to be one of my favorite genres, and now I try to avoid it at all costs. All the life has been sucked out of it, in favor of killstreaks, XP counters and all the other painfully overused trappings of todays shooters.
This has nothing to do with what the genre is, but rather whats become of it. If it was rpgs or some other genres I like at the top getting milked for all they are worth and destroyed in the process, I would feel the same.
http://www.youtube.com/user/EnvyMizuhashi Garyuu
“Saturation follows and then we complain about it in the Internet.”
You spared me the trouble of saying that and saved my entire weekend.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Kamek20xxExtra?feature=mhee Michael Stevens
ROFL! Military pew pews and farmvilles or cowclickers. Hehehe! The comments you make….XD.
Aaaaanyways, yeah I agree. Also dance games seems to be rising as well. Not a hater obviously, but you gotta admit that the world……..can be pretty boring at times…… T-T
Emphasis on AT TIMES, just in case to some people, and also because shooters and sport games are not always the most popular in the U.S. and Europe. Proof? Just look at Pokemon Black and White. So I don’t “fully” agree with what you said.
……I think I’m off topic.

http://twitter.com/Megawarrior345 Elle
I hope dance games die just as quickly as the guitar games.

JustThisOne
I.. I actually miss Dance Dance Revolution.
I also miss using the dance mats to play other games.

http://twitter.com/Megawarrior345 Elle
I LOVE Dance Dance Revolution. Especially the Japan versions. To be specific, I’m talking about Just Dance. I’d prefer Dance Dance Revolution made a comeback.

Suicunesol
I somewhat disagree with that statement. There’s not as many shooters as I thought there would be in the top twenty. I count 3– Black Ops, Gears of War, and Homefront. (LA Noire has some FPS elements, but I’m not sure it should be lumped together with the other three.)
I’d says sports games, which have always enjoyed a level of popularity, and dance/exercise/casual games have really lit up the charts recently.
On a personal note, I’m glad to see the Pokemon series is ever consistent in its sales. There’s something about seeing Pokemon in the top charts that always makes me grin… probably because its presence represents the fading genre of the traditional turn-based RPG that I enjoy, and that even among the most popular first-person shooters and dance games it still makes the top four every time.

http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/members/55321.html FinalArcadia
I always enjoy seeing which Pokemon game of the duo outsells the other. I thought Black would outsell White, since Reshiram is pure awesome. I always seem to get the version that sells less. Weird.
But Just Dance at number 1 in the US? *sigh* That’s a bit disappointing.

http://twitter.com/sheleigha Shel
I’m more a Reshiram fan myself (as is most of Japan too), but I think Zekrom has more the western “big awesome evil looking dragon” thing going for it. Reshiram doesn’t look too intimidating, especially compared to western Kirby :p

http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/members/55321.html FinalArcadia
Good point, and I just realized that Zekrom probably got a boost from being featured in the first episode of the Black & White anime.
I didn’t know that Japan preferred Reshiram. I’m glad I’m not the only one!

JustThisOne
I always thought it was because of White Forest, and being able to catch exclusive pokemon there.
I still chose Black, but I’ll have to admit – White Forest was a really tempting factor.

http://twitter.com/raywongy Raymond Wong
Can’t believe Just Dance 2 for WII was the best selling game of the year out of all the systems.

MrRobbyM
Me neither. I didn’t think it was that popular of a game.
Barrylocke89
As someone who works at Best Buy, I’m not surprised at all. People eat the Just Dance games up (along with Micheal Jackson the Experience, which is pretty much Just Dance Micheal Jackson edition). DDR is more my style, but these games are fun too, so I can’t say I’m surprised. I expect tons of people to buy Just Dance 3 this year too, especially since it has a Kinect edition.

http://myanimelist.net/profile/Kuronoa Kuronoa
Not a particularly thrilling list, but what can you do?
I just wish more RPGs sell like Pokemon do. Even the WRPGs don’t seem to touch it.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_2UQZFOZSMYND4QQWBXHZPPXNKA Vampiric
rpgs have never sold huge numbers but they dont need to to make more profit.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_J24UY7QAEKQY576PHZYS3EN6BA Celine
…….this list makes me so sad as an RPG connoisseur That being said, even if they don’t break record numbers, I hope all the companies making RPGs at least break even for all their games >_<

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_2UQZFOZSMYND4QQWBXHZPPXNKA Vampiric
rpgs never sell high ever in general

http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/HAEBCODVH3BGFIHE47BKNDXD2I Jonathan
. . . unless they’re in Japan or Final Fantasy in the West
http://twitter.com/Megawarrior345 Elle
Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest would like to know why you ignore them.

http://www.facebook.com/cbosak1 Christopher A. Bosak
I too am an RPG fan, and an all around gamer. I’m tired of a American gaming market dominated by the intense oversaturation of FPS games.

http://twitter.com/NeverUnplaying Sonny Oliveira
Americans love Western RPGS ala Mass Effect, Elder Scrolls and Fallout. Only problem is that none released this year. Skyrim is poised to sell millions upon millions and it’ll be up there after the year is done.

Solomon_Kano
Well… at least Mortal Kombat made it. The near-monopoly that shooters and sports games have on the western market is disappointing.

SirRichard
It actually seems to be party games and sports more than shooters on both charts.
Not that it’s much better, mind.

Solomon_Kano
Definitely not any better, but I was just speaking generally.

http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/HAEBCODVH3BGFIHE47BKNDXD2I Jonathan
our market is still obsessed with FPS and shooter games. . . and apparently dancing games. . .
Really, I would just for once like to see something that’s not recycled get on these top 10 lists here.
That does include Pokemon; which is great, but I would rather see another RPG take that spot. . .
SirRichard
Wait wait wait, hang on; FIFA 12 sold more on the PS3 than the 360? That’s a surprise. In fact, the whole chart suggests the PS3′s more popular than the 360 in Europe, and yet it never seems that way.
Well, at least we know that at the end of the day Americans love to dance, Europeans love to play football and everyone loves Pokémon.

http://twitter.com/NeverUnplaying Sonny Oliveira
That surprised me as well. I realize now that Euro game charts usually combine sales on all platforms together (ie FIFA 12 on PS3, 360, Wii, 3DS, PS2, PC and PSP), but I assumed 360 was the lead platform on most.

http://twitter.com/samielo Sami Elo
Xbox 360 is only popular in the US and UK. Mainland Europe is Wii and PS3 land.

Crimson_Cloud
Pokemon deserves the nice seat. Not really a fan of it but hell, the game was fun as hell. L.A. Noire and Mortal Kombat are hanging in alright too, I guess.
icecoffemix
pew pew generations.
kuro_chan666
and here it is – generation that didn’t play games in completely unknown language in their childhood, on gods know how did it get to you japanese NES. They only know and love graphics and pew pew…
http://www.facebook.com/santd Daniel Sant
Europe has better taste.
Merulana
Pokemon ranked higher than Call of Duty?
Maybe there is hope for this generation C:
I wish that RPGs always sold as well as Pokemon did though…

Altoire
I agree :|
http://www.siliconera.com Ishaan
Not to shatter any hopes here, but Pokémon ranked higher than last year’s Call of Duty.

LezardValeth
I’ll just take pride and revel in the fact that I’m different from your typical sheep of a consumer by not wasting my money on endless rehashes and uninspired sequels…
2012, CoD MW4
ISHYGDDT….
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_3ITUZUKPZYUV2VUCVXUW3DVO6Y AJ
More people bought white than black.
LA NOIRE showed up on these charts, yet it didn’t save Team Bondi.
That is what I got out of this list. I wonder what this list will look like after December.
Lucas Elexpe
These lists are sad.
JustThisOne
I don’t see that many FPS’s up there. The ones I do see are the big blockbuster kind, so I’m not surprised. (And then there’s Homefront, which I didn’t expect to do that well.)
Sports games and casual games kind surprise me. I didn’t realize that many people were into fitness games either.
I’m glad L.A. Noire made it on the list.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_YA5SUQOYGEOXSIZSZPGZGDWHRM Z
Wait… NSMB ds is on this list???
O_O

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