Portable gaming is on the rise according to the 2007 NPD numbers issued this week. While the increase in handheld hardware and software didn't make quite as significant a leap in 2007 over the previous year as the console market, the spike was still significant.

Handheld systems, which includes the Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and Game Boy Advance, bumped up about 7% in 2007 over 2006. Portable software sales showed a slightly higher spike, showing an 11% increase in sales last year compared to the same time frame in 2006.

In the system battle between the Nintendo DS and Sony's PSP, Nintendo clearly came out on top in 2007. Nintendo sold through more than 8.5 million DS units, more than a third of those systems (2.47 million) came from holiday sales in December. All told, the Nintendo DS has sold through more than 17.65 million system since the debut in November 2005.

PSP system sales were nothing to scoff at however; in 2007, Sony sold more than 3.82 million handheld systems, with just over one million sold in the month of December. Combine that with 2006 sales and Sony has put its system in the hands of more than 10.5 million gamers.

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