Barozi - Thats the way I look at it.
VGC does the best they can with data. However, it's not perfect. We've seen the Xbox 360 inch up and up in terms of Top-40 titles, so it's not like there isn't data supporting the correlation.
Is this unexpected? Absolutely. Is it impossible? No. Do you remember November 2008 NPD where VGC undertracked the Wii by ~1,000,000 units then overtracked by 1,000,000? Do you remember when the Wii looked like it was going to easily surpass 45 million by the end of 2008, and now, 6 months in, it's barely past 50,000,000?
Things like this happen. It's impartial. It happens to every system. I was on VGC when the Xbox 360 took almost 2 MONTHS to pass the 10,000,000 mark due to re-edits around the 9 million point. The Wii has usually done well with the edits in it's favor, which has probably helped it's clout on the site, but the reality is that every system can have it's ups and downs.
Lets consider the fact(s): The Wii hasn't had a price drop. The Xbox 360 is anywhere from 50-75 pounds cheaper than the Wii. The Xbox 360 has had more Top-40 games than the Wii has recently. This all sets the stage for what we've seen. Yes, it's unprecedented, but so is the gaming market. The UK is in the middle of a recession, and people may be cutting back more than expected. Look at the Japanese market, it's the same way: The Xbox 360 has sold like crap it's entire life, but has sold incredibly well, relative to where it's been, this year with no real reason other than pricing.
Again: This happens to every system sooner or later. Before you know it, Nintendo will officially drop the price, and the Wii will be back to selling >100,000 units a month in the UK before we know it. The most important thing is to be civilized and not whine about a legitimate tracking company giving shoddy numbers. Yes, there's a margin of error, but this is GFK we are talking about. We never doubted them when the Wii was curb stomping the X360/PS3, so why a sudden change when it's the other way around?
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
