2006 turned out to be a record year for games' sales across all platforms according to the ELSPA (Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. A total of 65.1 million games were sold in 2006 and that equates to £1.36 billion, a lot of cash. That's apparently an increase in sales of just over 1% from 2005.

Most interesting for me is that PC games sales in the UK seem to be on the rebound, up 7% year on year.

Paul Jackson, Director General of ELSPA, said: "We are thrilled to see the industry growing and software sales continuing to rise. With the new generation consoles and new handhelds there are some amazing titles out there and consumers are continuing to enjoy them. There are new and exciting games available and more and more family orientated and mentally stimulating titles to grasp and hold the interest of all ages. This is also a testament to the industry and it will continue to gain momentum."

With popularity of the handhelds on the market, the PSP and the DS, and the next generation consoles titles it is fantastic to see that PC software sales are also continuing to increase. Seeing PC titles have had their best year in ever in 2006 with a huge 7% increase since the previous year.

Paul Jackson continued: "Although there are new consoles and handhelds for gamers its is great to see that the PC market is doing so well."