Wal-Mart now sharing data on game sales

People always ask us "Joystiq, how does Wal-Mart keep prices so low?" The answer? Secrets. No, it's true, the more secrets a corporation keeps, the less it has to charge for goods and services. It would take us a while to explain, so we'll sum it up in two words: "market tectonics."

However, it seems Wal-Mart will have to find something new to be hush-hush about, as it has just decided to lift a decade-long ban on sharing sales data, according to AdAge.

This, of course, opens the door to fleshing out NPD with sales number from what might be the largest game retailer (we can't say for sure because, well, it doesn't share data). Even if it's not the biggest, Wal-Mart's numbers are sure to provide a more complete picture of what video games are really selling.

So, let us be the first to welcome our new market overlord, "Anything with 'Cabela's' in the title." Long may he reign.