For the uninitiated, the National Purchase Diary Group is the market research firm that has turned tracking videogame sales into something of a cult spectator sport. For gaming aficionados and journalists from a number of disparate outlets, the NPD’s monthly sales data for the videogame industry is the true frontline of the “console wars”. If you think I’m exaggerating the interest in such things, just check out this thread over at the infamous gaming forum, NeoGAF. That’s a forty-three page discussion about sales data for a single month.
Truth be told? I’m totally addicted myself. I can’t wait for the middle of the month when the reporting period closes and those sweet, sweet numbers hit the public. I find it utterly engrossing to see just what people are playing the most and I love to speculate on where that money trail is going to lead game makers in the coming months.
You should also know about Michael Pachter. Mr. Pachter is an analyst for Wedbush Morgan and has become gaming’s Tony Kornheiser but without the awesome beard. His predictions on just what the NPD numbers will be are as scrutinized as the numbers themselves.
Now that you know the score, here’s a Pach-Attack leading up to this coming Thursday’s April NPD numbers. Pachter believes that Nintendo’s going to stay on top of the hardware front with some 600K Wii systems sold and 550K DS systems on top of that. Interestingly enough, he also expects the Playstation 3 to edge out the Xbox 360 290K to to 275K. Hit up Next-Gen for the rest of the hot speculation.
Can you smell that? It’s NPD time, baby!!!