Hot shot

Staying consistent with the rest of 2012, December served up another year of decline for the North American video game industry. Despite pulling in a whopping $3.2 billion during the festive window, sales were still down 22 per cent over last year’s $4.10 billion. The year as a whole drooped by a similar margin, scooping just $13.26 billion compared to 2011’s cool $16.99 billion. Is it time for new consoles?

Hardware sales were down by 20 per cent in 2012, raking in $1.07 billion for the period and $4.04 billion for the entire year. A majority of the decline came from non-HD consoles, though, roughly translating to the Nintendo Wii. System bundles actually sold more than previous years, though standalone hardware sales decreased to balance things out.

Unsurprisingly, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 was the biggest selling game in December and 2012 as a whole, totalling $1.54 billion for the period and $2.67 billion for the year. Meanwhile, Far Cry 3 secured the second-best December launch since the NPD Group started tracking data, earning it a position in sixth on the best sellers list. Other titles featured in the top ten included Assassin’s Creed III, NBA 2K13, and FIFA 13. We’ve included the full rundown below.

Top 10 best selling games of December 2012:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (360, PS3, Wii U, PC)
2. Just Dance 4 (Wii, 360, Wii U, PS3)
3. Halo 4 (360)
4. Assassin's Creed 3 (360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
5. Madden NFL 13 (360, PS3, Wii, PSV, Wii U)
6. Far Cry 3 (360, PS3, PC)
7. NBA 2K13 (360, PS3, Wii, Wii U, PSP, PC)
8. Skylander Giants (Wii, 360, PS3, 3DS, Wii U)
9. New Super Mario Bros. 2 (3DS)
10. FIFA Soccer 13 (360, PS3, Wii, PSV, Wii U, 3DS, PSP)

Top 10 best selling games of 2012:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
2. Madden NFL 13 (360, PS3, Wii, PSV, Wii U)
3. Halo 4 (360)
4. Assassin's Creed 3 (360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
5. Just Dance 4 (Wii, 360, Wii U, PS3)
6. NBA 2K13 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, Wii U, PC)
7. Borderlands 2 (360, PS3, PC)
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)
9. Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSV, PC)
10. FIFA Soccer 13 (360, PS3, Wii, PSV, 3DS, Wii U, PSP)

[source gamesindustry.biz, via joystiq.com]