There are signs that PC gaming may be on the rise after Anita Frazier, an industry analyst at the NPD Group, noted that sales of computer games had jumped 48 per cent between 2006 and 2007, reports the New York Times. She stressed that the figures did not take into account those from online game subscriptions.

The increase in sales has been put down to a change in the attitude of PC makers and chipset manufacturers in the way that they advertise their products, especially when it comes to positioning them as gaming machines.

Microsoft’s Games for Windows and upcoming Windows Live services are also cited as key drivers for the continued adoption of PC gaming as it becomes much more like console-style gaming.

“Yes, it does look like a fluke, doesn’t it” Frazier said speaking to the New York Times. “Rest assured it’s not.”

She suggested that the majority of the upturn is thanks to sales of role-playing games such as World of Warcraft and Oblivion, backing up her statement by pointing out that sales of the genre itself had grown 43 per cent over the same period.

PC gaming is still small compared to console gaming in the US, which amassed sales of $4.8 billion according to the NPD group.