NPD to withhold hardware sales numbers from media

by Justin McElroy { Nov 6th 2007 at 9:00AM }

Over at Newsweek's Level Up blog, N'Gai Croal is reporting that the NPD will start withholding more info this month from those who aren't paying (read: the media). Most crushingly, the group says it will no longer release monthly console sales numbers and will only release the top five in software, rather than the top 10 we're used to. These numbers will eventually be available on a quarterly and annual basis. Console makers can still release the data themselves (and you can bet they will if it makes them look good) but that's not a guarantee.

It's bad news for both journalists like us who like to pass that information on to you and those who follow the numbers like they were sports scores. Now listen, forum kids and comments flamers, we know we've had a rocky relationship in the past, but we're going to need each other to get through this. Come, let your tears fall on our shoulders.

Tags: levelup, ngaicroal, npd

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

JodyAnthony @ Nov 6th 2007 9:04AM

good. i starting to feel sorry for all the sony fanboys.

DonWii @ Nov 6th 2007 9:13AM

Meh. VGChartz.

DonWii @ Nov 6th 2007 9:14AM

Damn reply.

borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Nov 6th 2007 10:29AM

Look buddy, I just bought Eye of Judgment. So as I don my magical cape and hood I have greater social worries than loosing at the NPD game.

Now who is looking to get reamed by a Biolith Scourge?

baby sea tuna @ Nov 6th 2007 11:01AM

Gah!

http://www.towson.edu/ows/lose_lose.htm

*Smashes head into keyboard...*

borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Nov 6th 2007 11:15AM

@BabySeaTuna: I should be ashamed, since I did graduate with a degree in English. However, considering this is an internet forum and I made a typo...chill. Grammar/Spelling Nazis are a despised breed.

x876543 @ Nov 6th 2007 11:49AM

As a professional analyst in this field (sarcasm) I predict that Sony will report a vast increase in PS3, PSP and software sales for the months of Nov and Dec. Each month will see at least a %50 increase, according to Sony. They will also declare a much larger and faster peni- er.. processing power available to developers so that their games will be ultra photo realistic to the point you won't want to live outside of the game.

F. Rocker or Fernando R.? @ Nov 6th 2007 9:15AM

Leaked. Information. Internetz.

Neon Jebus @ Nov 6th 2007 9:36AM

While NPD information is available in an easy to navigate website you do have to be a member to gain access. If media has industry insider access they might be able to get the data.

Sadly my connection to NPD data is only to the industry I work in, which is not this market.

Psaakyrn @ Nov 6th 2007 10:38AM

However, even if they have the data, they would not be allowed to publish it due to copyright reasons.

Neon Jebus @ Nov 6th 2007 10:45AM

@ Psaakyrn

Your comment on copyright is a good point. Data reporting is their business. I'm sad to see the numbers not being made available but I can hardly be upset with them for making the decision.

Neon Jebus @ Nov 6th 2007 10:52AM

@ Psaakyrn

Sorry if this gets a double post since my last comment has yet to show up.

Psaakyrn makes a great point about copyright. I'm sad to see they are pulling back on the information they are giving out but I can't be mad at them. It's their business and that business is helping companies (industry) and not the general public.

samfish @ Nov 6th 2007 9:16AM

NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

n2 @ Nov 6th 2007 9:23AM

Console makers will not release the data other than in quarter financial reports or at yearly trade show events.

sbf717 @ Nov 6th 2007 9:24AM

"Come, let your tears fall on our shoulders."

Butters: You not gonna rape us are you?

ck @ Nov 6th 2007 9:27AM

Yeah, pretty lame. Although I can't blame NPD for wanting money for all their (laughably) hard work. I'm sure they realized that a lot of people want to see those numbers and a fair share would pay for access, so why not make them pay.

But screw them, I say Joystiq, you should get together a team and gather your own data and hypothesize some numbers/generalizations and then you can still post who's winning the make-believe console race. Because we all know sales numbers determine who wins (I say this while Mr. Iwata swims in his pool of gold and diamonds).

Carlos @ Nov 6th 2007 9:42AM

no NPD numbers = i am sad

by the way, The Germs are one of my favourite bands ever! good taste!!

Carlos @ Nov 6th 2007 9:44AM

cause your avatar is the Germs album, right?
http://panther1.last.fm/coverart/300x300/3247804.jpg

JodyAnthony @ Nov 6th 2007 9:46AM

I also enjoy the germs

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Nov 6th 2007 10:52AM

ck, VGChartz already does this.

http://www.vgchartz.com

ck @ Nov 6th 2007 1:16PM

I'm a lexicon devil with a battered brain.

ck @ Nov 6th 2007 1:18PM

crono - cool link. At least some people out there think this information shouldn't be kept to shareholders. I think I'll be visiting that site more often.

Dale @ Nov 6th 2007 9:45AM

Well this is just great. How am I going to prove the size of my internet penis now?

borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Nov 6th 2007 10:40AM

Don't you know? E-penis waving is vastly more effective with less proven information!

SoulBlade @ Nov 6th 2007 9:47AM

oh no! now we can't rip on shitty consoles and rip on people for being fanboys!

good riddance.

Zac @ Nov 6th 2007 9:48AM

This is really silly. I can find out to the dollar what any theatrical release movie made last week, and see the billboard top 200 albums, and see TV ratings and even DVD sales.

but NPD won't let us know how many nintendo tapes people bought. why is this industry so cloudy, with shipping dates instead of release dates, and publishers boasting shipping numbers instead of sales? are they that afraid people will know what they're doing?

Neon Jebus @ Nov 6th 2007 9:55AM

Well NPD makes money on collecting that data. So it's like giving your product away for free. I can understand why they would limit the access to the information but why they can't give console sales and top 10 titles is a little beyond me.

It's not like I want to know how many copies of Super Mario Galaxy sells in the midwest or in the greater Chicago area. In other words, it looks like media only wants a wide overview, not pinpoint data which is what most of us use NPD data for.

Jon @ Nov 6th 2007 9:49AM

Aren't you bloggers?

Kevin @ Nov 6th 2007 10:02AM

Bloggers are part of the media. Just like a newspaper columnist or an editorialist. Sometimes they're better than the media...

Jon @ Nov 6th 2007 10:32AM

I know that. I work in the media. But bloggers != journalists.

Ludwig Kietzmann @ Nov 6th 2007 11:39AM

Uh oh, you'd better tell Justin that blogging invalidates his career as a newspaper journalist. Or perhaps someone's gotten a format confused with a career?

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Nov 6th 2007 11:46AM

"I know that. I work in the media. But bloggers != journalists."

Yeah, bloggers are different from journalists because bloggers report on the news and then give an opinion, journalists report on the news, give an opinion, and then claim that they don't give an opinion.

ShaneLucPicard @ Nov 6th 2007 9:51AM

This is simple. Just wait for the people who "are" paying and then swipe their oh so delicious data. Data is free once the web gets a hold of it.

deaftly @ Nov 6th 2007 9:53AM

now through out the next year monthly sales

wii-500k
360-400k
ps3-200k

theres your NPD

Brandon @ Nov 6th 2007 9:54AM

Two important points (IMHO):

1) This opens the door for a competing sales figure analysis to replace NPD as the defacto standard in the eyes of the gaming media/public. I'm not sure if there are competing groups already in existence (I assume that there is), but I would think this would be a great opportunity for them to get increased exposure.

2) This is good news for Sony. With everything else having gone wrong and recent news of MGS4 being pushed back even more (and rumors of FF not hitting 2008), their numbers aren't going to change anytime soon. Less public attention to the figures can only benefit them.

Psaakyrn @ Nov 6th 2007 10:41AM

Not necessarily good for Sony. With Sony having the short end of the stick currently, not having data released would keep them at said short end of the stick. Given the probable likelihood that it'll start to take up greater marketshare percentage (comparing to XBox 360, since Wii is with a different demographic), it may make the situation seem worse that it actually is.

EihBeir @ Nov 6th 2007 9:55AM

Now if we can just get Ludwig to stop posting the completely irrelevant Japanese Hardware Sales Chart....

megaStryke @ Nov 6th 2007 9:59AM

Or maybe he can go ahead and write up his routinely HILARIOUS chart companion column and place a "Space for Rent" image where the sales data should be.

HectorTheValiant @ Nov 6th 2007 10:27AM

LOL...

Shockgamer @ Nov 6th 2007 9:58AM

Noo!

How am I expected to enjoy my videogames if I can't mock the consoles I don't own with sales figures!??

Neebs @ Nov 6th 2007 10:07AM

Oh no! What shall the internets do! The IGN! The Gametrailers! The GameSpot System Wars! GameFAQs board 213! OH NOES NO MOAR HARDWARE

glitched @ Nov 6th 2007 10:25AM

What you guys arent realizing is that they only STARTED to release monthly info about a year ago, before that any numbers werent publicly released, but bought by certain media outlets and then copied through the internet.

NPD also claims their data is copyrighted... and did you know that its illegal to copyright facts? this was established long long ago. you cannot copyright the fact that joe farmer sold 500 cattle last month. However the Analasys of the data - now that can be copyrighted - and thats what the media does.

I also agree that there needs to be a revolution of sorts on the video game charts along hte lines of music billboard and movie box office stats.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Nov 6th 2007 11:10AM

But its not "facts". Its an estimate. NPD doesn't track actual units sold across the board in the US. It takes samples from every region (hundreds and hundreds of samples) and then extrapolates for what they don't know. What they have copyrighted is their estimates.

emmzee @ Nov 6th 2007 10:26AM

Doesn't Joystiq make money from this blog? Can't you guys just pay the fee, or is it ridiculously expensive?

Neon Jebus @ Nov 6th 2007 10:39AM

Somehow I don't think it's cheap. I also don't know if you can just pay to get the information unless your company reports their sales to NPD.

My company had to sign on to report to NPD. I can access my industry data tracked by NPD. I'm sure my company paid not only to have NPD track the data, I'm pretty sure they had to pay just for me to get a username to access the website.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Nov 6th 2007 10:33AM

Good thing VGChartz estimates are within 5% of NPD estimates.

Free info FTW. I bet this will result in LESS business for NPD since media will just start referencing the free info thats out there now rather than pay for NPD's numbers.

borland502 (SDF - Macross Ring) @ Nov 6th 2007 10:39AM

Isn't it strange that the sports analogy is more than a surface comparison? People get genuinely pissed when some game or console doesn't garner numbers to triumph over the competition. People will dick wave with Ghz and polygon fill counts like you used to compare horsepower in cars.

Dunno about you guys, but sometimes I have to laugh if I find myself furiously typing a defense of my beloved black monolith. Or I see someone else getting irritated at RRoD jibes. Many of us have become corporate whores, willing to pay to advertise a product.

Funny stuff. Vote Sony in 2008!