CVG
North America sales monitor NPD has revealed the best selling packaged retail games of 2012, with Activision's Call of Duty series once again emerging on top.
Mirroring sales results for the UK, Black Ops 2 was found to be the best selling game in the US last year. While the game did not sell as fast as its predecessors, Activision has issued numerous statements about the game's record-breaking revenues.
In eighth place is the 2011 release Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, while other shooters such as Borderlands 2 (seventh) and Halo 4 (third) also enter the top ten.
Though overall game related sales in the US were down 22 per cent year-on-year, analyst firm Cowen & Company nevertheless suggests that 2012 was a prosperous year for the FPS genre.
"Sales of shooter titles exceeded our estimates and were 17 per cent higher than the previous record for December," the group said.
"Sales of 'Call of Duty: Black Ops 2' were nearly 1 million units more than our estimate."
Overall, the top-ten list carries the hallmarks of a games market at the very end of its cycle - not a single new IP managed to break into the top ten. Familiar franchise continuations, such as Assassin's Creed 3 and Just Dance 4, each made it to the elite seller list.
The 10 best selling games in the US, 2012
Call of Duty: Black Ops II (360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
Madden NFL 13 (360, PS3, Wii, PSV, Wii U)
Halo 4 (360)
Assassin's Creed III (360, PS3, PC, Wii U)
Just Dance 4 (Wii, 360, Wii U, PS3)
NBA 2K13 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, Wii U, PC)
Borderlands 2 (360, PS3, PC)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC)
Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSV, PC
FIFA Soccer 13 (360, PS3, Wii, PSV, 3DS, Wii U, PSP)
