Xbox 360 top console in 2011; 1.7M units sold in December

Despite the industry being down 21% over last year during the reported month of December, Microsoft is celebrating. Why? The Xbox 360 manufacturer enjoyed twelve straight months at the top of console sales, the NPD Group has revealed.

Microsoft "sold more than 1.7 million" Xbox 360 consoles during December, equaling its efforts from a Black Friday-boosted November 2011. Total retail spend for the console reached $1.5 billion in December, "the most for any console in the U.S.," NPD added.

Of the estimated "$16.3 to $16.6 billion" spent on video games in the U.S. in 2011, Microsoft walked away with $6.7 billion--$2.1 billion on consoles, $4.6 billion on games and accessories.

During its final CEO keynote, Microsoft revealed that 66 million Xbox 360 consoles have been sold alongside 18 million Kinect peripherals.

Note: All NPD Data based on new hardware, physical software, and accessories in the U.S.

[via Microsoft]