[Updated] The data trackers at The NPD Group are finally taking a look at online subscriptions in addition to PC game sales at retail. The company will issue quarterly reports.
The NPD Group announced today that it has begun tracking software subscription data – one of the key revenue generators left out of its previous PC game sales report. The firm plans to issue quarterly reports that are based on consumer information from NPD's online panel of over three million consumers who agreed to complete online surveys.
The Video Game & PC Game Subscriptions Report specifically will provide some insight into the market size for paid online subscriptions to video games and MMO/PC games, gaming Web sites, and video game console services (e.g. Xbox Live). The data will be based on thousands of gamers ages 13 and older (members of the same online panel of three million consumers).
"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," said Martin Zagorsek, vice president, The NPD Group.
In addition to games, the subscription tracking will also examine consumer software subscription spending in the Security, Tax, Personal Finance and Online Storage markets. "These new additions to NPD's portfolio of products provide manufacturers, retailers, licensors, publishers, developers, and financial services companies with the ability to track the size, growth and demographics of the U.S. market for subscription-based games and software" added Zagorsek.
[UPDATE] Zagorsek told us that although they can't provide data points today, they'll likely be coming out with some headline numbers in a week or two. He confirmed to us that, as we suspected, MMOs have been the biggest revenue driver of online subscriptions. In addition, he said that NPD will be planning to track downloadable games as well, "which we believe is a smaller market than subscriptions right now but probably growing more quickly." He added, "It'll take us a little longer to get the methodology worked out for that though, most likely launching later in the year." via GameDaily
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