"And why do you keep bringing up monopolies? What does that have to do with anything we're talking about here?"

It was brought up because you keep claiming that somehow NPD keeps better stats. That may be true but we have absolutely no way of knowing. Given that they are a Monopoly in the sector however, they have no "slippery slope" since there is no competition. I point at my previous posts to explain that these rules dont apply here. BTW, Macs are not really competition either for gamers.

Your rebuttals make no sense. There are other reports out there that break down the sales of industries. None may be as large as the NPD, but it's not as if they could randomly make up numbers without anyone noticing.

And what is it with you and monopolies, billion dollar companies, and suits? No one is talking about this. We keep mentioning how it would hurt the bottom line of the NPD to manipulate the numbers and you come with a retort that basically says "but they have a lot of money and they're evil". It's hardly a response and whether you admit it or not, is awfully close to a conspiracy theory.

Should you believe everything you read? Hell no, of course not. But the NPD isn't even here for consumers, they're here for the businesses. And once they start lying to the businesses, their business (that companies pay through the nose for, have you ever seen NPD rate sheets?) isn't going to last very long. 

Where did I insult anyone? I haven't said anything remotely offensive in this thread.

"It was brought up because you keep claiming that somehow NPD keeps better stats. That may be true but we have absolutely no way of knowing."

We can agree on that. I never claimed that the NPD is the most accurate source in the world. I was arguing that they had absolutely zero incentive to lie about the numbers they collected. I also never claimed that they gave better stats. I think you need to re-read my points.

No, for someone in a random internet forum, you're not a good thinker (hey, you started it... Einstein).

You really think companies wouldn't try to track their competitors too? It's not like these things could go unnoticed for months with no end.

Your argument was covered as part of another reply earlier. Please re-read the post and improve your english comprehension. Maybe you should cut them all and paste them into word so you can see them all at once and tie everything together.

Regarding your second innane comment. Watch stock analysts and public news releases from companies and you see the public BS engine 1st hand every day on any channel or website that covers the market. "Noticing it" means nothing if there is no punishment to the behavior. But even that is beside the fact because as far as I know, there are no other professional companies collecting retail game sales data.

Marc, two questions:

1) Can you please quote, precisely, what Rocket Pig said that was apparently offensive to you and to others

2) Can you please fully explain what the NPD has to gain from fudging numbers on behalf of one company -- and consequently losing the patronage of dozens of others

Please keep in mind that we aren't suggesting that the NPD is our benevolent friend: we know that they, like all other companies, are just out for money. We're just saying that the best method for them to get the most money possible is to provide the most balanced, objective, and accurate information possible to all of its clients. Even the super big ones. 

1 - He didnt. I apoligize for that formally. Sorry Rocketpig that was my error. I wrongly assumed I was exchanging threads with the same person. The comment that was offensive was made by nintendo. I will edit my old post to remove the defamation.

2 - For the same reason any company or person (see politics) in history has done so. They get something out of it, and they can (or think they can) get away with it. I point out MS once again as a prime example (xbox 'sales' anyone? or how about their 6% failure rating that was later changed to "within industry standards"?) but others exist as well. Of those that I am aware of (making blatantly false claims about someone else via deal or their own products to bolster whatever) include Rambus (multiple times with Intel), Sony (multiple times), Nintendo (with 3rd parties in the past), Intel (with Rambus), AMD (sort of), IBM (long list going back to the 80's), Enron, & Sun (back when they were fighting MS untill MS purchased a huge chunk of the company). Those are just the ones I am aware of and I am no analyst or anything like that.

I also want to point out that I never claimed that NPD was fudging numbers. Only that it is a possibility and that there is no way to know whos numbers are actually better since we dont have any sources or power calculations not that I think that the data should be released to the public.

Thank you for apologizing, Marc. I appreciate it, and I'm not even Rocket Pig :p

As to the second point: the reason why other companies cook their books is to make a profit. That is the motive. By fudging their numbers, these businesses give analysts a rosier picture of their business' fortunes, and stocks can rise as a consequence. This may be corrupt, but regardless of where it falls on the moral compass, it springs from a completely understandable motivation: greed.

So for many businesses, I absolutely agree that number fudging can directly lead to profits. The problem is that this isn't true for NPD. They would make less money if they fudged someone's numbers, because all of their other paying clients would abandon them. Therefore, the same reasoning does not stand for NPD as it would for Microsoft (As an example). This is the real issue most of us have with NPD suspicions -- we aren't being blindly trusting, we just don't see anything NPD stands to gain from being dishonest.

Only if they got caught! ;)

I suppose the minor division we have is that I think they would get away with it while you think they would get caught. The reason I think they would get away with it is because no one else tracks that data and even if they did, NPD can probably spew out a stastic to claim that it is within range. Also, corruption can occur for many other reasons. Someone at NPD has a friend at Nintendo. John at NPD who collects data might be a Sony fan boy or maybe a Sony hater. Bill as MS does us some kind of favor so we dont want to make him angry (why havent the 360 been adjusted properly if we all know they are incorrect?). Sometimes its just an exchange of favors (something MS is notorious for) so that we I can get something out of it later very much like how politics works. Maybe someone at NPD has a stake in one of the said companies.

Again, I am not saying this is actually happening. I just think the probability of it happening is much higher than what most people might think but hey ive been wrong about stuff before. IMO the numbers presented by NPD are no more accurate than those seen on this site.