UK industry hits record £1.52B 2007

British news service the BBC today is reporting that the UK gaming industry brought in £1.52 billion (approximately $3 billion) for 2007, setting a new record for Her Majesty's stomping grounds. With two weeks of potential sales still outstanding, the gaming industry is up 25 percent year over year in the UK, with more than 78 million pieces of software sold to date. The BBC also reports that for last week, the gaming industry scored record revenues of £87.9 million (approximately $174 million) in games alone.

The BBC notes that more than 11 million consoles were sold during the third quarter of 2007, which is up 33 percent year over year. Further, games now account for more than 79 percent of all software sold in the nation.

In comparison, the stat-tracking NPD Group reported that the US gaming industry's November retail haul for games, hardware, and accessories reached $2.63 billion. Aside from being positively massive, the amount was significant due to the fact that November historically plays second fiddle to December as the largest month at retail for the gaming industry in the US.