There's some new bad news for all of the game news junkies (I'm with you, guys) out there. Newsweek's Level Up blog tells us that the NPD is going to start cutting back on the data they've normally openly shared with the non-paying public in the past.

From Level Up:

For starters, no more hardware sales data. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo will of course be free to release their own sales info—and presumably leak that of their competitors, if it'll make them look good—but we will no longer receive that data from NPD. Software sales figures will only be given for the Top Five SKUs, not the Top Ten as we normally receive. We'll eventually receive hardware numbers and Top Ten software numbers, but only on a quarterly and annual basis. There are signs that this may only be a temporary pullback, but for now, this is were things stand.

Oh no! How are we going to back up our fanboyish console war arguments now? Don't tell me that we actually have to stop bickering and play these damned systems now. 

Legacy Comments (will be imported soon)

XerxesTWD

They were probably just tired of saying how Nintendo wins every week Halo 3 doesn't come out... LOL, I am the funniest ever.

ArrestedDeveloper

Short term this is probably good news for Sony. I wouldn't be overly surprised if they actually pushed for this, everytime NPD's come out there are article criticizing them.

NightDehumidifier

Here, let me just give you the obvious rundown, you fill in the numbers!

DS
Wii
Xbox 360
PSP
PS2
PS3
GBA
GC
Xbox

Dale North

actually, sony had a good month, doubling up sales on ps3

Dosedmonkey

They sold both of them this month? christ!

Variable Gear

What is the meaning of this?

Grapefruit Juice

Good riddance.
While were at it can we also stop hearing about Box office #'s and Tv ratings too? 'cause they usually just point out how stupid people are.

king3vbo

Could this kill the fanboys?

...unfortunately no, but hey we can dream, right?

Usedtabe

@ Dale: In Europe, right?

Anyway, I agree, Sony has got to be loving this

Alex

btw, npd in germany means nationale partei deutschland

which actually is a nazi group which nobody likes..

monosylabik

finally.
maybe after everyone (and not just the fanboys...everyone is prone to oogling these sale figures as gospel)can start getting back to what really matters...the games.

DonWii

www.VGChartz.com

Cdewarior

Will the paying customers for the NPD info be subject to confidentiality agreements? If not isn't it as simple as having one such customer post the info on the internet? This seems like it may be an instance of making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Another solution would be to have a bunch of gaming sites join together to purchase the NPD data.

Lord The Night Knight

"@DonWii, where do you think their numbers come from?"

In case you hadn't noticed, NPD is monthly, and VGchartz is weekly, so they obviously can't use the same data.

The only overlap is when VGchartz adjusts their numbers to reflect NPD, and even then, the site is rarely more than a small fraction off.

CaffeinePowered

NPD should be public info, they can be used to track more than just console sales, the figures are very very useful to potential investors of any company.

WDot

I don't usually get into fanboy arguments, but I love to see how each system is selling. I also find it hilarious when things like the PS2 and GBA are STILL selling units. Why isn't NPD stuff public info again?

Bob Muir

There's no reason why this should be limited. Damn you, NPD.