I´ve also been gaming since the 80s (late 80s), but there was no internet back then, and as a little kid I didn´t think about the business/sales side of gaming.
I don´t even know if there was some group like NPD tracking sales of the NES/SNES/Genesis/etc.. and releasing that information to the public.
In the 16 bit gen, for example, I had no idea the Genesis was whooping the SNES ass here in the U.S. until DKC came out (apparently, that´s the story, the Genesis was giving the SNES a run for its money and DKC was the game that changed that scenario)







