Games industry breaks $13 billion in 2006 @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on January 19, 2007

News: We also have lists of bestselling games for the year as well.

The NPD Group has released their sales numbers from 2006 and the video game industry has grown again. Video game sales clocked in at $13.5 billion in 2006 with sales related to consoles and handhelds accounting for $12.5 billion of it. PC games picked up the rest with $970 million (a one percent increase over 2005). The $13.5 billion total is an 18 percent increase over the year before.

Unsurprisingly, the top games for the year were Madden NFL 07 (on consoles and handhelds) and World of Warcraft (on PCs). Here are the full top ten lists for both:

Bestselling Console/Handheld Games
1. Madden NFL 07 (Xbox 360, Xbox, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, GameCube, GBA, DS), EA Sports
2. Cars (Xbox 360, Xbox, PS2, PSP, Wii, GameCube, GBA, DS), THQ
3. Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (Xbox 360, Xbox, PS2, PSP, GameCube, GBA, DS), LucasArts
4. NCAA Football 07 (Xbox 360, Xbox, PS2, PSP), EA Sports
5. New Super Mario Bros. (DS), Nintendo
6. Need for Speed: Most Wanted (Xbox 360, Xbox, PS2, PSP, GameCube, GBA, DS), EA Games
7. Gears of War (Xbox 360), Microsoft
8. Call of Duty 3 (Xbox 360, Xbox, PS3, PS2, Wii), Activision
9. Lego Star Wars (Xbox, PS2, GameCube, GBA), LucasArts
10. Fight Night Round 3 (Xbox 360, Xbox, PS3, PS2, PSP), EA Sports

Bestselling PC Games
1. World of Warcraft, Vivendi
2. The Sims 2, EA Games
3. The Sims 2: Open For Business, EA Games
4. Star Wars: Empire At War, LucasArts
5. The Sims 2: Pets, EA Games
6. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, 2K Games
7. Age Of Empires III, Microsoft
8. The Sims 2: Family Fun Stuff Expansion Pack, EA Games
9. Civilization IV, 2K Games
10. The Sims 2: Nightlife, EA Games

Looking over the release calendar for 2007, I imagine the video game industry will set another record this year.