Yes, NPD going private isn't good for anyone, and no it doesn't make VGChartz legit. I really don't know why GAF thinks this is so big for VGC. As soon as I saw the news I was dissapointed for loss of figures, not happy for VGC.

However, to suggest that NPD isn't providing estimates also is wrong. To say that we need to check VGC against NPD is no more valid than to say that we need to check NPD against VGC. Either way, VGC does check their numbers against financial reports and any other source of valid numbers (for example, estimates by the likes of NPD or press releases by publishers).

No, fanboys can't make up crap, because we know that VGC is accurate enough for our discussions. This argument has been posed over at NeoGAF but they don't accept VGC numbers at all, VGC members should accept VGC numbers. If you are on this website and don't accept that VGC is accurate enough that you are going to disregard the numbers, then why did you start posting here in the first place? To claim that software will take this huge hit just because the US top 10 are slightly missing (we will still get rank and some numbers in reports) is sorta silly.

Disruption at its best.

I believe ioi's initial site began as a compiler of NPD/MC/Enterbrain data, but I'm not 100% sure on that, nor can I remember where I heard that information.

It was my understanding that at some point ioi decided to begin compiling his own data to form his own figures, and the transition from sourcing other groups' figures to using his own is when issues began to arise.  The lack of notable sources for ioi's new information was the root of much of the trouble, with VGChartz detractors claiming ioi's numbers were either copied from NPD/MC/Enterbrain or completely made up on the spot.

In the midst of this conflict came about the unofficial deal between GAF and NPD, at which point David M. Riley began posting on GAF under various usernames, with the primary intent of defaming VGChartz, NPD's newfound competition.  I'd say he spearheaded the anti-VGChartz crusade back in the day, and thus is responsible for much of the animosity this site currently gets.

Ultimately, however, I think ioi's lack of detailed citations for his sources is a large part of why sites like GAF will have trouble ever accepting his data, as well as the fact that if ioi's data is ever even slightly out of line, certain GAF posters will pick up on it and use it as further evidence why VGChartz is "always wrong."  Much of sales-age GAF only see the screw ups as a result.

But that's just my take on the situation.

There's also the issue of possible overstock, resulting in returns.  Shipping too many copies of a game can be incredibly dangerous for smaller companies like Atlus and NIS, which is why their titles are often in very short supply soon after release.

It's big for VGChartz because this site is now the sole public source of data for the US market.  Barring NPD leaks, of course.

1st quoted response) I agree, I overstated it, but the NPD reports are used for both, but I have a feeling that publishers know a lot more about retail sales than we do even without NPD numbers due to retailer feedback.

2nd quoted response) yay, we are now the sole public source of data in the US. Now instead of being mocked and compared to NPD we will just get mocked and compared to leak numbers that may or may not be real. This won't magically make us the defacto source, as websites could have posted our numbers any time in the past but chose to ignore it because they thought VGC wasn't credible. The more logical reponse is going to be to continue to ignore it rather than to investigate if VGC is really credible or not. We've been seeing steady growth as a source, but I don't think it is going to magically jump just because NPD stopped their minimal public numbers. Is there potential for new members? sure, we will probably pick up a few. Will it be a big impact? your guess is as good as mine.

Well, I don't really expect a crash -- even though every day we hear of another round of layoffs somewhere or disappointing/slowing sales.

But as for being mainstream -- this form of entertainment has the least respect and thanks to this action by NPD, the least pubic "official" information. All while it is being challenged in the SCOTUS regarding free speech in games. And 

Mike from Morgantown 

But there will inevitably be some people that begin to use VGChartz as a result of this, as it is the next available source after NPD. 

Not everyone hates VGChartz.  Many people simply use NPD because they either view it as somewhat more reliable than VGChartz, or because it's the only source they know, and these people won't necessarily be averse to using VGChartz in the future.  It's not like everybody either uses ioi's numbers or outright disregards them.

As someone who takes VGC numbers with a grain of salt, monthly NPD data will definitely be missed. Still, it's kind of funny to see all this pent up animosity towards VGC come out on GAF in a thread about *NPD* reducing the information they release publicly for their own personal gain. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that this is all ioi's fault somehow. 

NPD is being greedy and I hope to see this situation remedied through leaks. 

If I remember their last statement on this issue correctly, NPD does not track Walmart or Toys R Us directly, but they try and estimate those sales though their consumer surveys.

Unfortunately for them, consumer surveys are notoriously unreliable.

This is a real problem.

Brett has never come clean about his sources, probably because they're so few that it's impossible for him to get consistent data. The proof is in the pudding: Brett has consistently missed trend changes, his margin of error is not within 10% as it's often tossed around here - it's around 10% averaging everything (which means big spikes happen) and only on the big ticket numbers.

Ultimately this means his numbers are not reliable.

GAF staff might not like Brett but since his numbers aren't good, there isn't room to argue. 

Personally, I'll pray for leaks to force NPD's hand and save the day.

NPD has gotten mad at this website before and cut the public numbers off, but if NPD does that, then they risk having other companies come in to fill its place....