We visit these places a lot, it seems

Traditionally, when you move from one generation of videogame hardware to the next, there's a slight dip in sales. Amazingly, that doesn't seem to have happened with this generation, as GamesIndustry.biz reports:

Sales of game software in the UK will reach 78 million units by the end of the year, as retail enjoys another year of rapid growth.

According to data from Chart Track, last week generated sales of GBP 87.9 million, with the UK seeing a record-breaking third quarter as revenues rose 36 per cent from GBP 233.5 million in 2006 to GBP 332.6 million.

The number of units sold was up 16.6 per cent for the weeks 1 to 50, and 25.3 per cent by value.

"2007 has been a fantastic year for our industry as all the latest generation of consoles and handheld devices have become fully established," commented Paul Jackson, director general of ELSPA.

"Interactive entertainment is now truly mass market, and this is just the beginning of a period of real sustained growth."

Software units for the third quarter were up 33 per cent from GBP 8.52 million to 11.33 million, with console revenues up 45 per cent from GBP 180.95 to GBP 263.20 million.

The console market now accounts for 79 per cent of software revenues and 75 per cent of total software units.

Although the UK obviously can't compete with the US or Japan when it comes to sales figures, this is really encouraging news for ALL gamers. However, only a fool would argue that the stats would have been anywhere near as impressive had Nintendo not enjoyed such success with the DS and Wii. The Big N has surely made the biggest contribution out of the three main companies this year, and with more killer titles promised in 2008, the domination is set to continue.

[source gamesindustry.biz]