VGC needs to update far faster because they're running the risk of becoming irrelevant.

Maybe we should leave this site altogether.

This could be the case as during winter numbers where more off then they have usually been. So maybe they are reworking the numbers to get with in reason.

I can agree with this, lets hope they are coming up with a new formula.

Well. I think they lost sources without end. 10 years are a long time - people you know and have relationship with might have changed positions. Others might want their share of the success as this site is generating money. Etc.

Maybe the games industry has changed gears is more proactive forcing to keep the numbers a secret as they know how the horde effect works...

Finding a "new formula" would be easy if you still have enough collected data...

Thats totally what happened to me. I remember nextgenwars, and they had these banners you could post anywhere that updated. But then they weren't as good as this vgchartz. 

I kinda stopped caring when they swtiched to being a massive website. WHen they first did that, they didn't even have those charts that you could compare how sales were doing by launch. Really great charing features. This new site has none of that. Yeah, it now has some chart that shows you monthy sales for all time, but you can't do culmative sales by launch date!

At that point, the forums also became much less about sales and about all things gaming. 

Now, once a week or less I come on to browse the forum to see if I'm missing anything big and then forget about it for another week. 

we just need a big bold disclaimer on the software totals values stating that they are most likely inaccurate, and blame it all on digital and the platform holders/publishers not being transparent about digital sales.

The hardware totals I feel are more reliable, but still I consider them a "rough guide" to what the true values actually are, I wouldn't for example, bet any money on them being within 100,000 of actual, real totals at any given time.

Spot on. Even NPD is lacking on that regard.

I only come here for the forums and how quickly news gets picked up. I couldn't care less about how late the sales are.

I only really have one request, which would hopefully speed up hardware numbers being published and that is to unhook hardware numbers from software. If compiling software estimates, which are hopelessly inaccurate now anyway, is holding up the release of hardware numbers then just release hardware numbers.

We can be certain that software is holding up hardware with Japan because vgc just averages the famitsu, media create and dengeki hardware numbers but those trackers don't publish a big enough list of software sales for vgc to do the same for games. And of course the pattern for a long time has been to publish global hardware in one hit and then drip feed the software. Vgc should also release hardware numbers as soon as they are calculated, which again for japan means quite early in the week. There is no need to wait and compile all hardware for the world if some countries or regions are calculated early.

I have also noticed in-week adjustments from time to time. Vgc could improve its reputation somewhat by highlighting that first release numbers are preliminary, except for Japan, and are likely to change once country/region charts are finalised.

More transparency about things is better.