Digital downloading has become an increasingly large part of the game industry in the past few years. Microsoft is taking an increasingly digital stance on game distribution with the Xbox One, promising that new titles will be available digitally on the same day they are available in retail stores. Up to this point the tracking firm NPD has been providing retail game sale information monthly, with information on digital sales quarterly. Moreover, NPD has been vague about exactly how it gathers digital sales data. The lack of this information has given them trouble, with the ESA calling for more transparency and Gamasutra dropping the display of NPD information as a result.
The NPD has decided to take action by beginning to offer an SKU-level POS tracking service that would give more information on exactly where digital sales for games are coming from. As the next gen consoles begin to move toward a more digital future, the NPD is looking to roll out these new services quickly. “NPD has formed a leader panel to track digital POS sales of full game and add-on content downloads. It is an important and critical step toward that goal. Leader panels are often formed as a precursor to a formal launch of a POS tracking service,” NPD games group president David McQuillan said. NPD is working with EEDAR on this project.
Speaking to Gamesindustry International, McQuillan continued, “The NPD games leader panel is currently comprised of nine leading games publishers. The initial focus will be on full-game downloads and downloadable content for consoles, PCs and portables.” The nine publishers haven’t been named yet, but the NPD’s willingness to start tracking digital sales is a step in the right direction.
The digital game market is a much broader realm than retail sales, and NPD will need to collect data on subscriptions, in-game purchases and DLC as well as full game sales in order to provide a comprehensive picture. The variety of platforms involved is huge, and NPD faces a number of complicated issues in gathering believable, comprehensive data. Eventually this data will be integrated into NPD’s monthly reports.
Source: GI.biz
