January NPD numbers...

**gamevet** · 20 Feb 2003, 12:57 AM

SO, how does one factor in, what could possibly be a third of the market? Just about every small town has a Walmart. How many towns under 25,000 do you know that carry a store like Best Buy, CompUSA or Circuit City?

I'm sorry, but what the family making $75,000 a year and the family making $40,000 a year buy, is most likely not going to be the same. The family making $40,000 a year is'nt going to Best Buy any time soon, unless that $40,000 is a single guy or a couple, living in an apartment. Sure they might stop by to purchase a DVD or CD, but most of the time, these families will be shopping at Walmart for their groceries and extra's like toys and cloths.

**StriderKyo** · 20 Feb 2003, 01:02 AM

Originally posted by gamevet
SO, how does one factor in, what could possibly be a third of the market? Just about every small town has a Walmart. How many towns under 25,000 do you know that carry a store like Best Buy, CompUSA or Circuit City?

I'm sorry, but what the family making $75,000 a year and the family making $40,000 a year buy, is most likely not going to be the same. The family making $40,000 a year is'nt going to Best Buy any time soon, unless that $40,000 is a single guy or a couple, living in an apartment. Sure they might stop by to purchase a DVD or CD, but most of the time, these families will be shopping at Walmart for their groceries and extra's like toys and cloths.

I dunno, ask Reno. I'm looking at NPD's website right now, but I can't see any info on how exactly they tabulate these results.

**gamevet** · 20 Feb 2003, 01:09 AM

Damn! $1,500 you can get a spreadsheet for the last quarter's sales numbers.

**Shin Johnpv** · 20 Feb 2003, 01:36 AM

i really dont see how walmart can be factored into those numbers if they dont tell NPD what they sell

its like saying i asked Dave, Paul, and Joan what they spent and factored in Jill but didnt talk to her at all

jsut doesnt make sense to me

**Kinopio** · 20 Feb 2003, 04:48 AM

Originally posted by Andrew
Oddly enough he said before 2004 hits. That's a lie and we all know it.

Miyamoto said Zelda would be out in 2002, and no one believed him. turns out he was speaking the truth.

**Diff-chan** · 20 Feb 2003, 05:21 AM

Originally posted by Shin Johnpv
i really dont see how walmart can be factored into those numbers if they dont tell NPD what they sell

Its pretty easy to make estimates to fill in the gaps for the remaining whatever%. Im pretty sure you would use the same mathematics that are used to, say, call the winners of state elections when only 5% of the precincts are reporting.

And to be fair its not just Wal-Mart that NPD is not showing - I think NPD covers only 60% of the market, but every tracking system like this, including Soundscan and the like, is incomplete.

Its a pretty safe bet to say that even the Wal-Mart numbers are not going to really tip the scales in any great way. Wal-Mart customers, despite what some of the elitist buffoons in this thread may think, are not all THAT different from GameStop or Electronic Boutique customers, so I would say that almost certainly Wal-Mart numbers follow roughly the same curve that the NPD sales numbers go by. I know I was never struck with an instant case of Nintendo-love whenever I set foot inside of a Wal-Mart.

Of course, its great for Nintendo fanboys that Wal-Mart isnt on the NPD list, so they can masturbate to the idea that really Nintendo is on top because Wal-Mart customers flock to GameCube like housewives flock to Oprah, and at the same time they dont touch Sony or Microsoft with a 10-foot pole, but it's really, reeeeallllllyyyy unlikely that this is the case.

**Kinopio** · 20 Feb 2003, 01:24 PM

From what i've heard, Wal-Mart sells more Nintendo stuff than any other store. whether that is because wal-mart shoppers like nintendo, or because wal-mart just sells tons of everything, is the real question.