The final sales tallies for all retail games in December 2012 and the entire year as a whole are in, with the NPD reporting that the industry was down 22% in both December 2012 and 2012. Total sales in December 2012 equaled $3.21 billion, pushing the 2012 total to $13.26 billion, much lower than the almost $17 billion recorded in 2011.
As for individual categories, hardware was down 20% in December, earning $1.07 billion, and 2012 was down 27%, earning $4.04 billion. Software for December came to $1.58 billion (27% less), with 2012 reaching $7.09 billion (22% less). Finally, accessories fell just 8%, bringing in $2.51 billion.
Moving away from the depressing sales numbers, you can check out the software sales rankings below, with Call of Duty: Black Ops II finishing first in both December 2012 and 2012:
December 2012 (U.S. retail only – includes all systems and collector’s/limited editions)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II
- Just Dance 4
- Halo 4
- Assassin’s Creed III
- Madden 13
- Far Cry 3
- NBA 2K13
- Skylanders Giants
- New Super Mario Bros. 2
- FIFA 13
2012 Sales Rankings (U.S. retail only – includes all systems and collector’s/limited editions)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II
- Madden 13
- Halo 4
- Assassin’s Creed III
- Just Dance 4
- NBA 2K13
- Borderlands 2
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
- Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
- FIFA 13
What do you think of the numbers? Do you think they are due to the industry moving towards digital downloads, or just that we need the PS4 already? Let us know in the comments below.
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