NPD, the market research group that tracks sales for video game hardware and software, has just released the numbers for December 2011, and they’re not pretty.

December is the biggest shopping month of the year, so you’d think sales for everything would go up, right? Not so for video games, which declined from November in all categories except 3DS hardware sales. Analyst Michael Pachter said this is the worst hardware sales have been since 2005, the start of this generation.

But let’s put this into context.

First of all the NPD still doesn’t acknowledge digital sales, which are taking up a larger chunk of software sales as time goes on.

The hardware slump can be justified by the fact that people own all the consoles they want already. Again, the newest console (Nintendo’s 3DS) was the only one to experience any sales increase.

The release of the Wii-U will save hardware numbers for a little while, but it seems we are heading into a valley of sales that can only peak again if Sony and Microsoft announce new consoles. Though they remained tight-lipped at CES, something has to give sooner or later.

Here are the software numbers for those interested (note these are still technically “predictions”):

December 2011 Top 10 Games (New Physical Retail only; across all platforms incl. PC)

1.) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (360, PS3, Wii, PC) Activision Blizzard

2.) Just Dance 3 (Wii, 360, PS3) Ubisoft

3.) Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (360, PS3, PC) Bethesda Softworks

4.) Mario Kart 7 (3DS) Nintendo

5.) Battlefield 3 (360, PS3, PC) Electronic Arts

6.) Madden NFL 12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2) Electronic Arts

7.) Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (360, PS3, PC) Ubisoft

8.) NBA 2K12 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2, PC) Take 2 Interactive

9.) Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) Nintendo

10.) Batman: Arkham City (360, PS3, PC) Warner Bros. Interactive

Final Hardware numbers haven’t been released.