I don't go to this site for news. There are several other blogs out there skimming the net for the latest: Kotaku, Joystiq, Engadget. This site to me is for raw numbers. It is the site that gives fuel to fanboy fires. It is the most reliable account of systems sold and is considered by most forums to be the most definitive numbers set we have to play with.
So as far as forum and news....while I think these areas are entertaining, they aren't my favorite to read (Few forums are fun to read, but we all find ourselves here anyway...go figure). My point is that I think the site should focus on numbers and stats. I'm not sure how popular this site has become, or if this desire to revamp the forum and/or site is in response to forum threads or a reduction in raw hits per day, but I would think that the site is highly traveled, though less likely posted in than the boards at IGN or Gamespot. And I don't think that should matter. This site should be a geekfest....not system wars. In my opinion, the idea of us weighing in on a systems merits seems to reek of bias and should be kept to a minimum. We really should only be looking at trends and speculation, cause and effect.
But none of that matters. Forums will be forums.
Aside from that, I do have a couple quick ideas for chart modifications:
1: I would like to know when a chart was last updated. I am specifically referring to the main page numbers. I would also like to know what the last confirmed totals via Media Create and NPD were. For instance, this month some modifications were necessary to better reflect the sales numbers. Of course this will happen and should not be misconstrued as bias or incompetence. This site is supposed to predict, otherwise we could all just keep track ourselves. That being said, it would be nice to know the last time the numbers were precisely true representaions as opposed to current speculation.
2: I would love to see a countdown for when we are expecting new numbers. I understand that there is no way to pinpoint the exact hour or minute, but some on here seem to know the exact day. For the rest of us who aren't quite so informed it would be nice to have a little reminder. This could help reduce the number of pointless threads regarding simply the date of the numbers, as opposed to their significance.
Other than that, great site. Know that despite the state of the forums or the news the site is a valuable resource across the net.
