NPD Launches Online Game Subscription Tracking Report

Sales tracking organization The NPD Group has announced a new initiative to track the online market for software, video games and PC games via Subscriptions Reports, a new quarterly report that will chart both paid subscriptions and renewals. NPD says the reports will be "valuable tools for any games or software company that includes subscription revenue as a part of its business model, and for companies considering entering these flourishing markets" and will be tallied based on an "online panel of more than 3 million consumers who have agreed to complete online surveys." Specifically, NPD's games related report will chart market size and title shares for MMO/PC games, gaming web sites, and game console services like Xbox Live -- any service that gets revenue from paid online subscriptions. Said NPD vice president Martin Zagorsek, "These products are an important step towards NPD's ultimate goal of providing a truly complete view of the North American PC game and video game markets, including all of the different ways consumers pay for and play video games, PC games, and related products."