*spin-off* NPD to no longer release HW/SW sales numbers
- Thread starter NavNucST3
- Start date
Read the same thing. Oh well. I wonder though if sony /ms/nintendo will still release hardware sales. I guess we only get shipped numbers once a qtr now
You make it sound like they didn't already contain a frightening amount of guessing and dishonesty.
So we still might get the numbers from MS/Sony sometimes.
True, but now there won't be any golden nuggets hidden within the heaps of shit.
RancidLunchmeat
Veteran
Because the absence of information typically spurs more intelligent and thoughtful discussion?
No NPD data? But... How would we know which console maker to fervently root for, much less what gaming devices or games to buy, without the comfort of knowing who's "pwning" who at the checkout counter?
Personal preference? Merits? Without the cushion of consensus, how will we know what those are?
And without the hedge of a sales threads to engage in, what will we do to quench that oft-creeping sense of buyers remorse?
Personal preference? Merits? Without the cushion of consensus, how will we know what those are?
And without the hedge of a sales threads to engage in, what will we do to quench that oft-creeping sense of buyers remorse?
This really sucks 
However as pointed out on GAG, "silver lining"
I imagine we'll at least get the big 3 hardware figures from twitter and such.
Then again, maybe not. If the sales are less than crow-worthy, thinking of Sony here, I guess there's no reason for manufacturers to release the number.
So if sales are good, they'll release it, aka first place console aka Aron Greenburg's twitter the past few months.
Actually I can see Nintendo never releasing their Wii number if they're in 2nd or 3rd. As secretive as they are anyway.
Anyways it's interesting, I remember a day where there was no official NPD release. The numbers were simply leaked every month, and more of them IIRC. I certainly hope that becomes the case again. We wont see them openly leaked on GAF as their mods are cozy with the NPD, but I hope we'll get them. And hopefully more of them, causing the NPD to see the error of this policy.
Also this will cause a lot more wild speculation if we dont get the real numbers. People relying even more on dubious sources like Amazon rankings, Vgchartz, etc.
However as pointed out on GAG, "silver lining"
I imagine we'll at least get the big 3 hardware figures from twitter and such.
Then again, maybe not. If the sales are less than crow-worthy, thinking of Sony here, I guess there's no reason for manufacturers to release the number.
So if sales are good, they'll release it, aka first place console aka Aron Greenburg's twitter the past few months.
Actually I can see Nintendo never releasing their Wii number if they're in 2nd or 3rd. As secretive as they are anyway.
Anyways it's interesting, I remember a day where there was no official NPD release. The numbers were simply leaked every month, and more of them IIRC. I certainly hope that becomes the case again. We wont see them openly leaked on GAF as their mods are cozy with the NPD, but I hope we'll get them. And hopefully more of them, causing the NPD to see the error of this policy.
Also this will cause a lot more wild speculation if we dont get the real numbers. People relying even more on dubious sources like Amazon rankings, Vgchartz, etc.
This and anecdotal evidence will just suck.
I'm hoping we get full blown leaks going forward. Screw NPD.
In my fantasy world I'm hoping people will forget about the "sales war" and go back to enjoying video games. But I'm expecting a lot of Amazon sales charts, and pie charts about install base or attach ratios.
NathansFortune
Regular
This really sucks
However as pointed out on GAG, "silver lining"
I imagine we'll at least get the big 3 hardware figures from twitter and such.
Then again, maybe not. If the sales are less than crow-worthy, thinking of Sony here, I guess there's no reason for manufacturers to release the number.
So if sales are good, they'll release it, aka first place console aka Aron Greenburg's twitter the past few months.
Actually I can see Nintendo never releasing their Wii number if they're in 2nd or 3rd. As secretive as they are anyway.
Anyways it's interesting, I remember a day where there was no official NPD release. The numbers were simply leaked every month, and more of them IIRC. I certainly hope that becomes the case again. We wont see them openly leaked on GAF as their mods are cozy with the NPD, but I hope we'll get them. And hopefully more of them, causing the NPD to see the error of this policy.
Also this will cause a lot more wild speculation if we dont get the real numbers. People relying even more on dubious sources like Amazon rankings, Vgchartz, etc.
The only concrete information we can rely on now is the quarterly sales data. Everything else will be too patchy or cherrypicked.
Everything else falls by the wayside for hardware. Also, I think GAF will be less cosy with NPD as they only did that because David Riley assured them in return they would get figures for hardware and top 10 software. Without that all bets are off.
woundingchaney
Regular
I have a hard time believing that the numbers wont be widely available. Leaks are entirely too common in this day and age.
Well as I said, I remember a time NPD didn't officially release the numbers, and we always got leaks.
There will be the issue of whether the leaks are real, but somehow that always got sorted before. The reliable sources were known.
That said whether GAF is cozy with NPD or not is probably irrelevant, NPD will be watching them. But of course there are many other forums.
Be very interested to see how this shakes out, starting Thursday. I can already see GAF posting a "NPD scraps" thread Thurs.
Probably what scares me a little bit though, is Chart Track in the UK doesn't release numbers, and there arent really Chart Track leaks either that I know of. Implying a no leak future is possible.
It's quarterly ship data, not sales. But yeah, those will be a part of the puzzle of course.
When did enjoying sales numbers and enjoying games become mutually exclusive? YTF is it so hard for people who claim to despise sales to stayTF out of sales threads? When did it become bad to want a game you like to want to sell well?
I can't order tickets to a movie on any of the websites I use without seeing the box office top 10 every week and here we are the bastard step-children of the entertainment business going backwards. Not only does NPD need to get its shit together but Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft need desperately shed light on PSN, WiiWare/VC, XBLA sales.
I also wish that this will come true. I never understood how people can take these numbers so seriously.
Jim
The problem with the quarterly data is that we have no insight into how it's formulated. All three companies mean subtly different things by "sold" and "shipped". At least the NPD numbers, while they might not be entirely accurate, are all based on the same data and definitions, so the three numbers are comparable.
Now what we're going to get is the three companies spinning the numbers that make them look good and not mentioning the numbers that don't. Nintendo will crow each month about how the nintendo "platform" outsells all the others (combining all their products into one number). Sony will go on about how well they compare to last year, while also bundling numbers. And MS will make sure everyone knows they sell the most HD consoles. We'll come out of it not actually knowing anything more than we did going in, but with enough non-information to generate many pages of heated conversations
It's kinda like what the celphone companies do. They all claim they have the "most reliable" network, they all just define "reliable" differently. (One uses dropped calls, one uses available connectivity, etc)
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Some of us dont actually play video games
It certainly gives a far more accurate picture of roughly how many consoles are out there worldwide than NPD (or japan numbers etc) do. Sure a manufacturer can play around with the figures somewhat. The most famous example this generation was MS Q4 2006 when they released 4.4million for the quarter (to make the 10million milestone they said they would do) but it will bite them in the ass, eg the quarter after that (in MS's case that was 0.5million) i.e. theres only so much you can massage the figures by.
Quarter shipments are the best indication of how a console is performing bar none, far better than NPD which true whilst the US is the largest single country WRT consoles sold. NA is in fact the smallest region of the world WRT video games, the order is
#1 asia/pacific
#2 europe etc
#3 NA
Yet on this board 90% of talk is about NPD