2011 is slowly fading into memory. There can be little doubt that it will go down in the history books as one of the best years for games ever, despite plummeting sales figures. Here in the West, Modern Warfare 3, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Portal 2 dominated the sales charts, but what about the rest of the world?

A list of Japan's best selling games of 2011 has been published by Media Create, and North American gamers are apt to be surprised by which games made the list -- and which games didn't.

Much has been written recently about the strength of Nintendo's 3DS in Japan, and Media Create's list of Japan's best selling games certainly drives the point home. The three best selling games of last year were all 3DS exclusives, and the system has another three games scattered throughout the top 30. In fact, Nintendo generally had a fantastic year -- fully half of Japan's 30 best selling games of 2011 appeared on Nintendo hardware. That said, PlayStation 3 has more games on the list than Wii.

Sony's PlayStation Portable also put in a surprisingly strong showing last year, garnering two top-ten finishes and scoring as many spots in the top 30 as 3DS. No wonder Sony isn't worried about Vita; in Japan, the PSP is still going strong.

Check out the full list of Japan's 30 best selling games of 2011 below.

  1. Mario Kart 7 1,160,169 (3DS, Nintendo)
  2. Super Mario 3D Land 1,080,192 (3DS, Nintendo)
  3. Monster Hunter 3G 985,498 (3DS, Capcom)
  4. Final Fantasy Type-0 746,203 (PSP, Square Enix)
  5. Final Fantasy XIII-2 704,236 (PS3, Square Enix)
  6. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd 682,651 (PSP, Capcom)
  7. Rhythm Heaven 654,403 (Wii, Nintendo)
  8. Tales of Xillia 627,346 (PS3, Namco Bandai)
  9. Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 Professional 602,664 (DS, Square Enix)
  10. Wii Sports Resort 579,220 (Wii, Nintendo)
  11. Wii Party 546,738 (Wii, Nintendo)
  12. Kirby’s Return to Dreamland 537,128 (Wii, Nintendo)
  13. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D 483,432 (3DS, Nintendo)
  14. Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy 465,198 (PSP, Square Enix)
  15. Dynasty Warriors 7 455,996 (PS3, Tecmo Koei)
  16. Just Dance Wii 453,411 (Wii, Nintendo)
  17. Mobile Suit Gundam: Extreme Vs. 453,084 (PS3, Namco Bandai)
  18. Nintendogs + cats 443,400 (3DS, Nintendo)
  19. Pokémon Black/White 433,876 (DS, Nintendo)
  20. Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 425,771 (PS3, Konami)
  21. The 2nd Super Robot Taisen Z 423,972 (PS3, Namco Bandai)
  22. Yakuza of the End 416,050 (PS3, Sega)
  23. Monster Hunter Portable 3rd HD Ver. 415,943 (PS3, Capcom)
  24. Dragon Quest Anniversary Collection 403,953 (Wii, Square Enix)
  25. Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity 376,534 (PSP, Sega)
  26. Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle 361,503 (3DS, Level 5)
  27. Dark Souls 353,549 (PS3, From Software)
  28. AKB1/48: I Fell in Love With an Idol in Guam 350,350 (PSP, Namco Bandai)
  29. Kirby: Mass Attack 349,899 (DS, Nintendo)
  30. The Little Battlers 346,608 (PSP, Level 5)

Amazon recently published its own list of the top selling game of 2011, and while that list was limited to ten titles, only one of those games managed to make it into Japan's top 30: Just Dance. (For the record, Just Dance Wii is distinct from Just Dance 3, but since they both belong to the same series, we're willing to count it.) Meanwhile, not one single Xbox 360 game made the top 30, which is both a shame and something of a surprise, particularly after Famitsu scored Skyrim a perfect 40/40.

Ranters, what do you think of Japan's best selling games of 2011? Are you surprised that none of the big Western games made the list? Let us know in the comments below.

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Source: Siliconera