Port Washington, N.Y. - U.S. video game sales rose 18% in 2006, to $13.5 billion, bolstered by top-selling PC title "World of Warcraft" and the release of new hardware from Sony and Nintendo, according to a report from market research firm NPD Group.

The top selling titles of the year for consoles or handhelds included Electronic Arts' "Madden NFL 07"; "Cars" (THQ); "Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy" (LucasArts); "New Super Mario Bros." (Nintendo); and "Need for Speed: Most Wanted" (Electronic Arts).

Coming in behind Blizzard's "World of Warcraft" in the top 10 for PC games were five of Electronic Arts' "Sims" games, as well as "Star Wars: Empire At War" (Lucas Arts); "The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" (Take-Two); and "Age of Empires III" (Microsoft).

Overall, sales of PC games in 2006 rose 1%, to $970 million, while sales of games and accessories for consoles and handhelds totaled $12.5 billion, up from $10.5 billion in 2005.

"It's refreshing to see an increase in retail sales of PC games after having experienced a few years of declines," said NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier. "With revenues from digital downloads and subscriptions on the rise as well, the PC games segment of the industry remains healthy."

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http://tinyurl.com/2fjyrg (Reuters)