We've already mentioned that the NPD Group claims PC games only generated $701 million in revenue in 2008 but those figures are only for US retail stores and do not cover things like downloadable games, micro-transactions or subscription fees. Bearing all that in mind NPD has also released their list of the top 20 best selling PC games in those US retail stores.

Even though this list has that large caveat, it's clear that Blizzard dominates the PC gaming scene with seven titles in the top 20 including the best selling game of the year, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (if you add Activision's two Call of Duty games in the mix then the combined Activision Blizzard company has nine out of the top 10 PC games in 2008). EA's Spore and The Sims 2 games, along with Warhammer Online and Crysis, take up several spaces on the list. Funcom's MMO Age of Conan was number four on the list indicating a huge retail response when it launched in May 2008 but as we have reported the game has been losing a lot of its subscriber base since then.

Mention must also be made of Sins of a Solar Empire, the best selling strategy game in 2008 in retail stores and number 14 on 2008's list. Considering that the title reportedly sold well in downloadable copies in addition to its retail sales, both Ironclad Games and Stardock must be happy. Check out the full list after the jump: