The NPD Group seems to be trying to shake up its game analysis business. In recent years, it's attempted to capture better information on the digital games market, and now looks to be edging into the game consultant business with the announcement that it’s acquiring the Carlsbad-based analytics firm EEDAR.
The news comes by way of a press release sent out by NPD and EEDAR, which says that combining the two company’s game data platforms will “give clients access to a full suite of services covering data, insights, and analytics and facilitate innovation to meet the rapidly changing needs of the industry.”
NPD’s EEDAR acquisition does mean the company isn’t just tracking sales now, it says it will also be picking up EEDAR’s business of consulting for game developers and providing marketing and design insights for their game releases.
This of course means that, to some extent, NPD will be pushing its market-focused business into the more artful world of game design. For developers who’ve worked closely with the consulting firm in the past, it’ll be interesting to see if NPD is able to offer any more useful information to help complete the launch of their game.
Update: An NPD representative has reached out to clarify that while NPD is purchasing EEDAR, the objective of the purchase is mainly to focus on integrating company's data analytics platforms, and the design consultancy end of the business will remain solely in EEDAR's purview.
Still, EEDAR CEO Robert Liguori did confirm that the company would still be doing its consultancy work under the flag of The NPD Group. When asked if the purchase would positively impact EEDAR's ability to consult for various game companies, Liguori pointed out that EEDAR's previous partnership with NPD meant that they have already been providing NPD data in their analytic work for some time.