And PC zombies shall rule the Earth…

Surprise! People LOVE World of Warcraft, and are more than happy to empty their bank accounts for the chance to keep that love alive. Also, there are some people who apparently still play Bejeweled. Either way, the NPD Group just released a report tracking the revenue earned from online subscriptions, and the numbers aren’t too shabby.

Based on data between October 2007 and March 2008, the NPD is saying that online gaming brings in more than 1 billion dollars annually. (Now would be the time to put your pinky to your mouth.) While not completely shocking, seeing as Blizzard pulled in nearly 1.2 billion last year because of their online phenom, the report does fly in the face of what analysts have been saying (fearing) for years; i.e., the PC is dead.

“Now that NPD can estimate the value of the subscription market, it’s clear that there is a sizable chunk of revenue being generated by PC gaming beyond what is reflected in retail sales,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

Some other interesting facts from the report, which divided numbers between MMOs and online gaming sites like pogo.com, included just who’s paying all this money. For more casual gaming sites, women under the age of 35 make up the majority. As for MMOs, that arena is filled by adolescent boys, and 35 year-old men who live in their parents’ basements. Ok, maybe that’s a bit harsh, but you get the idea.

The top performers were as follows:
For MMOs the number one spot went to World of Warcraft, the two spot to Runescape, and number three to The Lord of the Rings Online.
For gaming sites, Pogo.com took top honors, followed by RealArcade and Big Fish Games.