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DKII on 18 June 2008
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Robert Passarella has spent over 18-years on Wall Street.
The choice bits:
"For the video game sector, NPD produces the benchmark measures for North American game and console sales. Analysts like Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan, and Colin Sebastian of Lazard, create, on a regular basis their monthly forecasts of where NPD will come in at. Over the last couple of years a new entrant has entered the picture with different aims from NPD; enter VGChartz. By all accounts this newcomer is causing a headache for NPD and their for pay service."
...

"The main difference between NPD & VGChartz is that, VGChartz is a user-based community of video game enthusiasts/experts and NPD is a market research company. Their business models also differ, NPD is a for-pay service and VGChartz looks to be supported mostly by paid advertising. While VGChartz makes their North American data available on a weekly basis along with data from Japan and Europe. NPD is focused on North America, and their data is released monthly.

So if you're an investor interested in this sector or an analyst -- the first question you should ask yourself "is the data from VGChartz good?" My answer is, after looking at and using VGChartz data for the last two years, it's quality. But please in the Age of Web 2.0 form your own opinion.
Here are my reasons:


  • The data is weekly as opposed to monthly -- time is a big advantage. (I saw Sony's changing future thanks to VGChartz much quicker than if I'd waited for monthly numbers)
  • It is the only place to get as close as possible to worldwide figures on console & game sales.
  • The best part of using or working with VGChartz data is that they give you their biases upfront along with a comparison of their numbers against NPD and key analysts like Michael Pachter.
  • There is community that has arisen around the numbers; that is willing to have an open exchange about the short comings, and methodologies in VGChartz's multiple forums. You really don't get that with NPD.

 

It has to drive NPD nuts that a site like VGChartz can create a presence and provide high quality information with a completely different business model. I am sure in the NPD mindset, the thought of an outsider competing with them in this space was completely unanticipated."