NPD, GfK Chart-Track, Enterbrain Team Up to Measure Global Software Sales

Thu, Aug 21, 2008

Any individual gamer may or may not have care how many units of Tales of Vesperia flew off store shelves in Japan last week -- but as a whole we gamers sure do love our statistics. And whether gathering ammunition for the "console wars,' reveling in the fact that that their favorite medium sold better than DVDs or conducting genuine market research to determine the saleability of a title, U.S. gamers and publishers alike typically turn to consumer research firm NPD to provide them.

But even as the NPD holds a respected place in the gaming industry, they only measure U.S. sales, and thus have only one admittedly large piece of the puzzle in a growing international marketplace. That's why today, we were excited to learn that the NPD is partnering with research firms in the U.K. and Japan to create the most global software sales report yet devised.

We spoke with NPD senior marketing director David Riley to find out why the deal came about, and what it might mean for gamers like us.

In 2004, NPD met with the Japanese research firm Enterbrain at the Electronic Entertainment Expo -- but not to broker a deal. They'd simply never done it before. "We knew of them," said Riley," but had never really spoken." However, in the course of their conversation they must have found some common ground, because both parties left after voicing a mutual interest in collaboration on a project that would surface only four years later: the Top Global Markets Report (hereafter TGMR).

Announced this morning via press release (at bottom) the Top Global Markets Report combines point-of-sales data from the three largest game software markets into one unified report -- representing, according to Riley, approximately 65-70% of the entire console retail software market. The report is certainly limited in its breadth -- as yet featuring no data for PC, accessories or even console hardware -- but unprecedented in scope.

Though Riley attests to the tremendous difficulty of sorting out the three groups' distinct research methodology (and translating years upon years of game titles from English to Japanese and vice versa), the result is an alliance that can offer its members comprehensive monthly sales figures for every title, no matter when or where it was released (as far back as the research firm's records go) and highlight the sales difference between each territory. To drive the point home, NPD released a brief sample this morning (albeit in YTD, rather than the planned monthly format):

Year-to-Date^* Top 5 Video Game Titles

Top Global Markets Report

Ranked By Units^**

Rank	Title	Total	US	UK	Japan
1	GRAND THEFT AUTO IV	6,293,000	4,711,000	1,582,000	--
2	SUPER SMASH BROS: BRAWL	5,433,000	3,539,000	213,000	1,681,000
3	MARIO KART WII	4,697,000	2,409,000	687,000	1,601,000
4	WII FIT	3,604,000	1,433,000	624,000	1,547,000
5	GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK	3,475,000	3,037,000	412,000	26,000

Source: Top Global Markets Report / Retail Tracking Service

*Jan.-July 2008

**Unit sales figures rounded

So, as Edwin Starr famously asked, "what is it good for?" Well, if you're a game publisher who already subscribes to all three services and can read both English and Japanese, it's just a way to get all your data in one place -- and Riley was careful to mention that there would not necessarily be a price savings this way. But for gamers like you and I, Riley hopes the TGMR means that games which are released in one country would be more likely considered for the next as well.

Riley initially explained that the TGMR was a reaction to a growing global market. "You can only tap an existing market so much; there's only so much sap in the tree," he said. Obviously, existing software is localized for other territories to maximize profit, and when it comes to deciding which territories to localize for, the NPD believes this new service can help. (Looking at the lower-right-hand corner of that graph, we're already wondering if Rock Band: Japan is such a good idea.) But when we suggested that the allied data might proactively influence globalization all by itself, Riley took on a new tone: "That's the whole point of this product."

Though he admitted that some games are created with a specific society in mind, the marketing director argued that "gamers don't stick to one type of game -- they're interested in more content." Citing the vast number of Japanese titles never considered for release in the U.S. -- and vice versa -- Riley explained that the TGMR could be a way to "walk around the wall" separating what may be incorrectly considered radically different gaming markets. In the U.S, "Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! would never have flown 20 years ago," he asserted, "but now, these are top properties."

But as promising as the simple combination of three countries' sales numbers might be, the corresponding action may take place entirely behind the scenes -- that is to say, you may not be reading these numbers on websites like GameCyte. "We haven't sat down and talked about a deliverable," said Riley, before explaining the "delicate balance" between courting the media and maintaining a private database worth users' money.

"It's going to take a few weeks to decide what -- if anything -- we will deliver."

NEW YORK & TOKYO & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Leading providers of consumer and retail information in the video games industry, The NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track Limited and Enterbrain, Inc., today announced the release of Top Global Markets Report, the first report to integrate point-of-sale (POS) data for video game software sales in the world’s largest games markets.

The leading games information sources in the U.S, U.K. and Japan – the largest games markets in the world – have joined forces to provide the gaming industry with a single source for sales data providing detailed insight into what’s happening in these important markets.

Top Global Markets Report gives the video game industry the ability to equip itself with a monthly report that provides jointly-contributed, title-level video games software sales by country. Data can be viewed as an integrated total market view or as side-by-side country comparisons.

“The video games business has become increasingly global, with the majority of the publishers releasing games in multiple markets,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “The U.S, as the world’s largest market will be able to view and compare sales for the first time outside of their own market.”

The report allows users to track titles, unit sales and share, as well as dollar sales and revenue share in order to quickly respond to shifts in the marketplace. It gives users the ability to know the market and competitors across countries in order to analyze and respond to global gaming market trends.

"We are excited to be working more closely with NPD and Enterbrain,” said John Pinder, Managing Director, GfK Chart-Track Limited. “This partnership represents a great opportunity to benefit not only our clients but the industry as a whole by providing a comprehensive, industry-supported view of sales across the three largest video game markets,

“We are very grateful to start such a valuable service and alliance with NPD and GfK Chart-Track Limited,” said Hirokazu Hamamura, President, Enterbrain, Inc. “This service gives us the ability to better help game publishers and developers by providing them with a more global view of market performance.”