NYT: PC Games Mounting a Comeback

Down, but not out, the humble personal computer game is on the upswing, says the New York Times. By way of proof, they offer an authoritative-looking man shopping in the Rockefeller Center underground EB Games (right).

Oh, they've also got NPD numbers on their side, too:

Anita Frazier, an industry analyst for the NPD Group, a market research firm, noted that in the first two months of 2007, domestic retail sales of PC games reached $203 million, a 48 percent increase over the $136.8 million in the period a year earlier.

As it turns out, the "bulk of the surge" is down to growth in the RPG genre, thanks primarily to World of Warcraft. But PC gaming still represents the minority of gaming dollars tallied by NPD results -- $970 million in 2006 versus $4.8 billion for consoles and $1.7 billion for handhelds.

Actually, wait, that's the real laugh line:

another $1.7 billion was spent on games for hand-held devices like
Sony’s PlayStation Portable.

Devices very much like it, in fact, only cheaper and they say "Nintendo" on them.

PC Games, Once Down, Show Signs of Rebound [New York Times]