I don't like the ads with sound or the full page click-throughs. But really, the ads have gotten less annoying over time on the whole.
NPD has nothing to do with anything. VGC is successful because it offers numbers sooner, from more markets, for more games, and for free, which is perfect for casual enthusiasts.
NPD is for more upscale customers. VGC and NPD really don't compete.
Complaining about the ads as a stealth way to attack the numbers is lame. If you value accuracy more than timliness, cost, larger compilations of data, etc., then stick with NPD. There are some yahoos who ramble about "representative samples" to insinuate VGC's numbers might be more accurate, but frankly, NPD is waaay more accurate, and every reasonable person knows it. But VGC represents other values for low end customers.
NPD was stupid to ignore low tier customers, and if Ioi capitalizes off of that financially, I say more power to him.
"[Our former customers] are unable to find software which they WANT to play."
"The way to solve this problem lies in how to communicate what kind of games [they CAN play]."
Satoru Iwata, Nintendo President. Only slightly paraphrased.
