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The VGChartz Network is a network of four ] websites - VGChartz, gamrFeed, gamrReview and gamrConnect.<ref></ref> '''VGChartz''' itself sits at the centre of the VGChartz Network and is a ] sales tracking ] that provides weekly sales figures of ] software and hardware by region. The site was launched in June 2005 and is owned by ].<ref></ref> VGChartz provides tools for data analysis and regular written analysis of the data it provides. The VGChartz Network is a network of four ] websites - VGChartz, gamrFeed, gamrReview and gamrConnect.<ref></ref> '''VGChartz''' itself sits at the centre of the VGChartz Network and is a ] sales tracking ] that provides weekly sales figures of ] software and hardware by region. The site was launched in June 2005 and is owned by ].<ref></ref> VGChartz provides tools for data analysis and regular written analysis of the data it provides.

VG Chartz provides tools for data analysis and charting and regular written analysis of the data referencing major news in the video gaming industry. Sales figures on VG Chartz are based on estimates extrapolated from small retail samples.<ref>.</ref> Because of this, some sites have questioned the reliability of the information presented by the site.<ref></ref><ref></ref> VG Chartz has defended the credibility and reliability of its sales data often comparing their numbers with the ones published by ],<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.vgchartz.com/news/news.php?id=564 | title=NPD Data vs. VGC Data for the September 2007 Sales (9/2/07 to 10/6/07) | author=TheSource | date=2007-10-19 | accessdate=2007-11-10}}</ref> although the charts are adjusted after NPD's monthly report is released.


==History== ==History==

Revision as of 08:43, 12 November 2010

VGChartz
[REDACTED]
Type of siteVideo game sales tracking, Video game journalism
OwnerBrett Walton
Created byBrett Walton
URLhttp://www.vgchartz.com

The VGChartz Network is a network of four video game websites - VGChartz, gamrFeed, gamrReview and gamrConnect. VGChartz itself sits at the centre of the VGChartz Network and is a video game sales tracking website that provides weekly sales figures of console software and hardware by region. The site was launched in June 2005 and is owned by Brett Walton. VGChartz provides tools for data analysis and regular written analysis of the data it provides.

History

Formation

VGChartz began in June 2005 when Brett Walton created an area on everythingandnothing.org.uk (as the site he had created at the time) called "videogame sales charts" which collected publicly available video game sales data in one place for users to view. In July 2006, Brett launched VGCharts.org, a stand-alone version of the sub-site on everythingandnothing and still collecting publicly available data together from across the web. In March 2007, Brett bought the VGChartz.com domain and rebranded the site as VGChartz. With this re-launch came the move from collecting publicly available data to carrying out original research on the videogame market, and VGChartz began to produce its own weekly charts.

Expansion

News organizations such as the BBC, Fortune, the New York Post, and the New York Times began to pick up on VGChartz sales research in their publications and as a result, VGChartz began to gain popularity. In February 2008, Forbes editor, Michael Noer, cited VGChartz in his The Future Of Videogames article. In June 2007, some controversy surrounded the release of sales figures for DiRT by Codemasters when they revealed that 500,000 copies of the game had been sold. Brett spoke with website Joystiq to clarify that the 500,000 figure was in fact ship-in and that in reality sales were closer to 260,000 at that time.

In June 2008 Robert Pasarella wrote an article comparing VGChartz and NPD services, advantages and disadvantages, VGChartz being the winner due to the modality on their service. However, in the same month Simon Carless wrote an article in which he criticized VG Chartz for the poor tracking of a video game Iron Man in comparison to NPD, for adjusting data to match other sales tracking firms in certain cases, and for making educated guesses for some figures data for other regions. Notable websites such as NeoGAF and Misplaced Pages have decided not to use VGChartz as a source for sales data based on the Simon Carless article.

In November 2009, Inc.com published an article on letting gamers set their own price for games and interviewed Brett on what sales level an indie game should be aiming for to be considered a success. In July 2010 Brett was quoted by ABC News 10 in regards to expected sales performance of PC title Starcraft II. In September 2010, Brett reported that Xbox 360 title Halo: Reach had sold four million copies in the first week and this success has set Xbox 360 platform holder Microsoft in good stead for the crucial holiday sales period this year. In the same month, The Chartered Institute for IT ran an article quoting Brett in which they argued that the success of Halo:Reach would be 'difficult to replicate' for smaller developers.

Present Day

In June 2010, VGChartz launched the VGChartz Network. VGChartz is still the site for sales data. gamrReview was launched as a home for the network's reviews and previews. gamrFeed was launched as a blog-style site for news, editorials, and features. It also aggregates the content from VGChartz and gamrReview. gamrConnect was launched as a site dedicated to the VGChartz community.

VGChartz Network

The VGChartz network consists of 4 sub sites, each of which provides a different service and a hub page.

VGChartz provides sales data for all current gaming consoles and portables, as well as retail gaming software for all major platforms. The main service provided by VG Chartz is weekly charts of hardware and software sales for the video game consoles sold by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. This data is presented in three separate charts that each cover one of the three main video game markets (Japan, North America, and EMEAA (Europe, Middle-East, Africa and Asia). The site does provide sales charts for many older consoles, but with the exception of the PlayStation 2, the regular updates focus on the current generation of home consoles and handhelds. The sales figures database can be analyzed with tools on the site for data analysis and graphical representation purposes. Tools available include:

  • Americas Pre-orders: Lists the total pre-orders in the Americas for all upcoming titles and the weekly change.
  • Hardware table: Users can see a subset of the data in table form by region and console between set start and end dates.
  • Million sellers: A table of console software that has sold over a million copies according to the publishers' data is shown.
  • Weekly Records: A chart listing the top selling title in a given week from release.
  • Milestones: A chart listing the quickest games to a given sales milestone.

gamrFeed is a gaming news blog that features breaking news stories, features, editorials and sales articles. gamrReview features reviews and previews of games as well as a video game database that features reviews, release dates, screenshots, details, cheats, sales data and more. gamrConnect is the social branch of the network featuring active forums and profiles that feature comment walls and a game collection.

Key people

  • Brett Walton, President and CEO
  • Jacob Mazel, Senior Analyst, VGChartz
  • Brian Zucker, Site and Public Relations Manager
  • Chris M. Arnone, Managing Editor - gamrFeed
  • Nick Pantazis, Editor-in-Chief - gamrReview
  • Craig Snow, Senior Editor - gamrReview and Community Manager - gamrConnect
  • Seth Pinter, Game Database Manager - gamrReview
  • Nick Simberg, Senior Editor - gamrFeed
  • Karl Koebke, Senior Editor - gamrReview
  • Evan Elden Eller, Senior Editor - gamrFeed
  • Stephen Kelley, Features Editor - gamrFeed
  • Pat Fass, Development Manager


References

  1. Network The VGChartz Network
  2. CB Games Interview: VG Chartz Speaks Out
  3. vgsales - everythingandnothing.org EverythingAndNothing - Web Archive
  4. VGCharts.org - Web Archive
  5. VGChartz.com - Web Archive
  6. VGChartz.com Welcome Page - Web Archive
  7. Reed, Jim (2008-09-16). "Xbox 360 gets UK price cut". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  8. Fortt, Jon (2007-08-20). "Nintendo philosophy dominates U.S. video game charts". brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  9. SALES OF 'MADDEN' HIT 1.8M - New York Post
  10. Muskus, Jeff (2008-04-21). "NYT Article (4/21/08)". Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  11. Noer, Michael (2008-02-11). "The Future Of Videogames". forbes.com. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  12. Codemasters says DiRT sold 500,000 in one week
  13. Codemasters Inflating Sales Figures for DiRT?
  14. Data on the Web: VGChartz vs. NPD - O'Reilly Radar
  15. GameSetWatch - Analysis: What VGChartz Does (And Doesn't) Do For The Game Biz
  16. Gamers Experiment with Pay Whatever Model
  17. Starcraft II proves PC gaming is not dead
  18. Halo: Reach 'has positioned Microsoft strongly for holiday 2010'
  19. Halo success will be 'difficult to replicate'
  20. VGChartz Has Evolved!
  21. Americas Pre-Order Chart - VGChartz
  22. Hardware Comparison Charts - VGChartz
  23. Worldwide Million Sellers - VGChartz.com
  24. Weekly Records - VGChartz
  25. Worldwide Fastest to 2.0 Million - VGChartz
  26. gamrFeed - VGChartz
  27. gamrReview - VGChartz
  28. gamrConnect - VGChartz

External links

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