I'm not defending anyones actions. Leaking NPD numbers is a dick move considering what NPD has done to plug leaks. However, one of them benefits us and the other one doesn't. 

Is leaking NPD numbers a dick move? Of course, but it's a dick move that benefits anyone interested in sales discussion. Is ignoring the request of the person leaking the numbers a dick move? Of course, but it's a dick move to literally everyone who's interested in any kind of sales discussion, including ethomaz.

It's not exactly rocket science, just like it's not surprising to see which idiot actually did it.

If I was a leaker, I wouldn't share the fact that I myself was the leaker on any forum. Just PM some mods that can verify your identity, and PM the numbers to the mods each month. The mods post the numbers, and bam. It would be literally untraceable. If you really want to avoid NPD goons.

Also, scramble the numbers upwards or downwards within a margin of 5% randomly for good measure.

But anywho, I'm still just glad we got any numbers at all. It's a rare thing nowadays. But it's the internet. Thousands of people view this thread, if not tens of thousans, the likelihood of everyone adhering to a simple "don't do it" is minimal.

I'm going to say this for the last time: it's about risk mitigation on my behalf. People on NeoGAF, especially Ethomaz, understand that NPD agents specifically post on NeoGAF and visit their NPD threads every single day.

When you make posts on NeoGAF dumping leaks verbatim you're screaming right into NPD's face "HEY NPD! LOOK NPD GROUP! THERE'S A LEAK! LOOK AT THIS LEAK! HERE'S WHAT IT IS!! DO A GOOGLE SEARCH AND YOU CAN FIND IT!! DO IT NOW!"

And all it does is make NPD hyper-aware to the existence of a leak.

They didn't actively police VGChartz before this went down, so I was hoping that people on NeoGAF would try and keep it at least slightly under the radar instead of being an obnoxious idiot blasting the leak in NPD's faces the instant it happened. I knew it would leak out eventually, but I expected at the very least some restraint when handling this sort of sensitive data.

They have shown the ability to keep things under the radar before (like when there were 2chan leaks). And I thought that especially, now that leakers like Aquamarine and Creamsugar were silenced, that they'd know better.

But that's just me expecting people to employ tact and restraint, which clearly isn't the focus of those people. They'd rather be content in their "it's public, so I gotta share it immediately lulz" ignorance, forgetting that such actions can very easily lead to no more leaks on my part.

Clearly some people are unconcerned with the very real possibility that there will be no more leaks, and I wish them the best.

Leaking on moral grounds is a sliding scale. The NPD Group literally used to release hardware numbers along with the Top 10 software. Releasing that today is literally what NPD did for YEARS AND YEARS before, so it hurts absolutely no one and NPD isn't going to lose any clients.

I don't think what I did caused any harm whatsoever. The only reason you should try and follow my wishes is because a little intelligence in how you handle sensitive numbers will ensure that there are numbers in the future. It's in your self-interest to be careful with how you share numbers, clearly not something Ethomaz could parse through.

Anyone else read this in a Trump voice?

Unless I'm mistaking your point, NA isn't the PS4's strongest market. It's comparitively weak there.

Yep, and that is why I said I wouldn't cross-post. But there were several attacks to the one leaking as if one is better than another. It's basically as you put, one favours what we want and the other not so much, although it favour the same desire in another group.

Yes I understood that your request was for risk mitigation, and I wouldn't personaly put those numbers anywhere.

But you can't assume others wouldn't and that there aren't idiots over there. Even more when the title of the thread is quite easy to find on the search. And that is why I said that the best way for you to protect yourself was to PM mods with the approximate numbers and not put them yourself.

Creamsugar and Aquamarine were taken down because they wanted the limelight on their leaks... leaking for several months in a row using their own username and exact data (that if NPD wanted they could give slightly different numbers for different companies and with that discover who was leaking by looking at who would be putting that specific number).

If you wish to share the numbers to collaborate to the discussion without exposing yourself finding a thrustworthy mod (most on VGC I would think are quite that) give him rounded numbers for the HW, Tips for some top 10 that people want to know and total $ of sales rounded. That way there is very little for NPD to track from unless they go against the mod, but he having no contract whatever NPD does against him is kinda illegal. Even better if the mod is from overseas.

Nope, why would anyone do this?

Great PS4 numbers....Switch flat but still very good despite supple issues......I am just worried about the XB1 to be honest......

MS isn't doing that really if we compare to last year. They have been a little bit down YOY in terms of console sales in the first half of the year. But still, last year they've got a huge discounts in the summer to get rid of original Xbox Ones before One S releases. And Switch wasn't released either. So, it's hard to say really that they've got some problems right now. But if they won't be able to catch up during the holiday season, then it's gonna be bad for them.

The US is the strongest market for the PS4 compared to other countries, But EU > NA if were going by continent.

Now that's a stretch but I get you we're just trying to be funny.