While the nation sinks into economic recession, video game sales just keep booming.

And while that statement resembles a non sequitur, the reason for gaming’s great time in the face of despair is fairly obvious, at least to Game Guy.

The timing of the two is a clue. U.S. sales of games and game-related technology soared 37 percent in May, according to market researcher NPD Group. In total, NPD says, Americans shelled out just over a whopping $1 billion for games and accessories that month, spending most of their bucks on the new “Grand Theft Auto IV” and Nintendo’s Wii console (Or maybe they didn’t).

Though Wii was in great demand already, interest in it spiked higher following Nintendo’s release of “Wii Fit” in North America in late April. Sony’s PlayStation 3 system also appears to be enjoying a turnaround, having sold just over 22,000 more units in May than Microsoft’s rival Xbox 360 system.

All in all, very good numbers for gaming at a time when it needs good numbers to help shed its persistent image as a hobby only a geek could love.

But when you think about it, where else would gaming’s numbers go but up at this time? Housing prices are in the toilet, so people aren’t too busy packing up and moving while the kids are out of school. Employment opportunities even in the fluid summertime service sector are few, because of persistent budget cutting by businesses in their attempts to weather the current economic downturn …

And, of course, the big one: Gas prices have soared so high you almost need a green portrait of Abraham Lincoln just to buy a single gallon.

That means nobody’s going anywhere — not even down to the mall to see a movie or test drive a pair of Manolo Blahniks.

You’d think then that this leaves reading books or spending face-time with family members as prime alternatives, but those two things that are almost unheard of in American homes today. (And no, Game Guy does not equate the proliferation of Borders book stores with an interest in reading; those stores sell more coffee to Wi-Fi users than books these days, anyway.) Just ask anyone under age 25 how much chat really goes on without a BlackBerry.

Instead, to occupy everyone’s time, there’s gaming, which, for the $30 to $60 investment in just one title can reap hours, days, even months of entertainment. And most games today include online networking, so players can connect with strangers and try making friends worldwide through their common controller-driven interest.

Or, to put it another way, gaming allows people to travel without burning gas.

So, if you think gaming’s sales numbers were high in May, just wait until the results for June, July and August come in. Because if predictions of a continually flaccid economy come true — and current market numbers seem to suggest that they will — this may turn out to be the best summer yet for gaming.