November was a bumper period for new software releases.

Unsurprisingly, Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim came out on top. But despite the high profile roster  of software releases — and growth in unit sales across the board — NPD analyst Anita Frazier warned that "a decline in average retail price in all categories" resulted in flat dollar sales compared to last November. Despite that, November 2011 "marked the best November on record for sales of new physical content" outpacing the previous record holder, November 2008.

Given that the NPD tracks North America only, it was Microsoft's XBOX 360 that dominated the hardware charts for November 2011, posting some pretty ridiculously figures. But Sony finished up in second place, with the PlayStation 3 netting an extrapolated 900k units — a whopping 70% increase year over year.

"PlayStation 3 is off to a phenomenal start to the holiday season, recording the best ever Black Friday sales period in the console's five-year history," said Sony's Patrick Seybold. "According to the November NPD report the PS3 saw a 70% increase in hardware and a 30% increase in software year-over-year. Consumer demand has been very strong for our holiday bundles and for recent first and third party blockbuster titles such as Uncharted 3, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. We're excited that millions of people are joining the PlayStation community and realizing its incredible entertainment value across games, movies, TV, music, and more."

Not too shabby at all, and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception was no slouch at retail either. The PlayStation 3 exclusive finished in seventh on the software chart and was only beaten out by a slew of high-profile releases. Game Informer put the Naughty Dog exclusive at about 700k.

Unsurprisingly Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 was the real software beast for the month though, beating Blacks Ops "by about 7%". That puts its number at around 9 million units. Yeah.

Hit the jump for multiformat software top ten, courtesy of the NPD.

  1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)
  2. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (360, PS3, PC)
  3. Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC)
  4. Assassin's Creed: Revelations (360, PS3, PC)
  5. Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360)
  6. Madden NFL 12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2)
  7. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS3)
  8. Saints Row: The Third (360, PS3, PC)
  9. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (WII)
  10. Batman: Arkham City (360, PS3, PC)

[source joystiq.com]