ELSPA says 2006 was record year for UK games industry // GamesIndustry.biz

"ELSPA says 2006 was record year for UK games industry

Software sales up 7 per cent, FIFA most popular title

ELSPA has declared that the British videogames industry hit an 'all time high' in 2006 with a 7 per cent increase in the number of games sold - bringing the total figure to 65.1 million units.

All-formats sales totalled GBP 1.36 billion - a new record, according to ELSPA, and an increase of 1 per cent over the figure for 2005.

The majority of console games purchased were for PlayStation 2, followed by Xbox 360, Xbox, Wii and GameCube. PC titles did well, with software sales up 7 per cent - making 2006 the platform's 'best year ever'.

It was also a good year for handhelds - DS and PlayStation Portable software sales just trailed the figures for PS2, with Nintendo's machine 'slightly outdoing' the PSP.

The best-selling game of the year was FIFA '07 - one of four EA titles in the top ten. At number three it's Need for Speed: Carbon, with The Sims 2: Pets at six and The Sims 2 at nine.

Konami's PES 6 takes second place, while Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is in fourth followed by Lego Star Wars 2: The Original Trilogy at five.

Movie tie-in Cars is in seventh place, while Lara makes a comeback with Tomb"