Why can't the releases be spread out, instead of filled weeks, and dead weeks?

nahh, that is not true... everytime a company releases pc sales numbers it is pretty obvious that digital is higher as retail on pc. npd said already in 2010 that digital sales are higher as physical on pc for "full titles" which includes i think only games which are released also as physical copy.

That one? http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/30510/NPD_Digital_Trumps_Physical_In_PC_Software_Unit_Sales.php

NPD itself said they are not accurate because these numbers where extrapolated from third-party tracking via a survey... curious in this data is that retail generate more money than digital... weird because the survey only tracked full releases.

NPD is US only too.

BTW the first digital chartz for UK.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/first-uk-game-download-charts-says-simcity-was-march-s-pc-bestseller/0116204

BioShock sold more digital units than SimCity and SimCity sold way more retail units than digital.

People still like to buy retail instead digital.

i know that npd is us only lol. but that was from 2010, before all the steam and origin stuff really started to explode. and yes, physically made more revenue then because digital is cheaper. even on day one you have to pay less digitally on pc. not to talk about weeks later. not sure why it's weird that retail revenue was higher only including "full games releases" for you since that means they only compared full price titles and didn't take all the indie games and stuff in the calculation. 

but like i said, everytime a developer releases sales numbers for pc they are much higher digital. 

and how do you come to the conclusion that sim city sold "way more" at retail as digital? because bioshock sold more as simcity digital but digital+retail simcity is in front? that doesn't really mean that physical sales have to be much higher, only that it could be close.

as example it could be 1,1m for simcity and 900k for bioshock:

digital: bioshock 650k and simcity 600k 

retail: bioshock 250k and simcity  500k

which wouldn't really wonder me because you got a lot of free stuff when you preordered bioshock online (as example xcom). and don't forget that simcity is only on origin which means many people who buy digital did maybe not buy it only because they hate origin. many people who bought at retail did probably not even know about that until they started the game. so yeah, i think digital sales of simcity could be much more if it would be also on steam and other sites.

but that is only for the first weeks after release, we talk about full sales of games after years. maybe sales are very close at release but after some months i would bet with you that a lot more sales are digital.

The ones with credit cards :) Minecraft: Xbox 360 will be 10 m at the end of the year. It now sells 110k+ weekly (digital + retail) easily, and this is what is really crazy.

Read my post after that. I'm talking about age group.

Payday Bonus For 505

19/Aug/2013

‘Payday 2’ ends Minecraft’s three week run at the top of the chart and becomes 505 Games’ first No1 since Sniper Elite V2 back in Week 18 2012.

The sequel makes the jump to console following the great success of the original ‘Payday: The Heist’ which was released as a digital download only. ‘Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition’ (-14%) drops down to No2 while a strong boost in sales sees ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops II’ (+60%) continue its impressive climb back up to No3. ‘FIFA 13’ (-18%) drops two places to No4 while Nintendo’s ‘Animal Crossing: New Leaf’ (-9%) holds its position at No5.

Further down the chart there is little movement with ‘The Last of Us’(-19%) still holding at No6 while ‘The Smurfs 2’ (-31%) is pushed down from No3 to No7. Both ‘Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes’ (-0%) and ‘Tomb Raider’ (-10%) are non-movers at No8 and No9 respectively. Perhaps in anticipation of the hotly awaited next instalment, Take 2’s ‘Grand Theft Auto IV’ (+6%) just edges out Ubisoft’s ‘Assassin’s Creed III’ (-10%) for the No10 spot.

01 (01) 360 MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 (EDITION MICROSOFT)
02 (NE) 360 PAYDAY 2 (505 GAMES)
03 (03) 3DS ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF (NINTENDO)
04 (07) 360 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II (ACTIVISION BLIZZARD)
05 (04) PS3 THE LAST OF US (SONY COMPUTER ENT.)
06 (NE) PS3 PAYDAY 2 (505 GAMES)
07 (05) 360 FIFA 13 (ELECTRONIC ARTS)
08 (16) PS3 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II (ACTIVISION BLIZZARD)
09 (14) 360 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV (TAKE 2)
10 (09) 3DS LUIGI'S MANSION 2 (NINTENDO)
11 (06) 3DS MARIO AND LUIGI: DREAM TEAM BROS. (NINTENDO)
12 (17) 360 GRAND THEFT AUTO EPISODES - LIBERTY CITY (TAKE 2)
13 (08) PS3 FIFA 13 (ELECTRONIC ARTS)
14 (22) 360 MAX PAYNE 3 (TAKE 2)
15 (18) 360 TOMB RAIDER (SQUARE ENIX EUROPE)
16 (12) 360 ASSASSIN'S CREED III (UBISOFT)
17 (15) PC THE SIMS 3: ISLAND PARADISE (ELECTRONIC ARTS)
18 (02) PS3 TALES OF XILLIA (NAMCO BANDAI GAMES)
19 (13) PS3 TOMB RAIDER (SQUARE ENIX EUROPE)
20 (19) 360 BATTLEFIELD 3 (ELECTRONIC ARTS)
21 (21) 360 FAR CRY 3 (UBISOFT)
22 (36) 360 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM - LEGENDARY (BETHESDA SOFTWORKS)
23 (27) 360 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES (WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE)
24 (25) 360 RED DEAD REDEMPTION: GOTY (TAKE 2)
25 (24) PS3 GOD OF WAR: ASCENSION (SONY COMPUTER ENT.)
26 (10) NDS THE SMURFS 2 (UBISOFT)
27 (23) 3DS LEGO CITY UNDERCOVER: THE CHASE BEGINS (NINTENDO)
28 (34) PS3 NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED (ELECTRONIC ARTS)
29 (__) 360 HITMAN ABSOLUTION (SQUARE ENIX EUROPE)
30 (11) WIU PIKMIN 3 (NINTENDO)
31 (28) 360 NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED (ELECTRONIC ARTS)
32 (31) PS3 ASSASSIN'S CREED III (UBISOFT)
33 (39) 360 BIOSHOCK INFINITE (TAKE 2)
34 (38) 3DS MARIO KART 7 (NINTENDO)
35 (29) 360 SAINTS ROW: THE THIRD - THE FULL PACKAGE (KOCH MEDIA)
36 (40) 360 LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS (WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE)
37 (20) 360 THE SMURFS 2 (UBISOFT)
38 (30) PS3 FAR CRY 3 (UBISOFT)
39 (35) 3DS NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. 2 (NINTENDO)
40 (32) PC FOOTBALL MANAGER 2013 (SEGA)

http://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p/software/uk/latest/index_test.jsp&ct=110032

UK Charts - week ending 17th August: http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=166477

6,000 copies and it is on the top#2. UK market is dying...