Steam sales will not be included in digital sales charts.
Valve’s Jason Holtman has told MCV that “the idea of a chart is old” and that they “tell an inaccurate story”.
This position will surely come as a blow to NPD and UKIE, both of whom are looking to compile their own digital software sales charts.
“The idea of a chart is old,” said Holtman. “It came from people trying to aggregate disaggregated information. What we provide to partners is much more rapid and perfected information.
“If you look back at the way retail charts have been made, they have proven to be telling an inaccurate story. They apparently had shown how the PC format was dying when it was actually thriving.”
Valve do provide publishers and developers with data specific to their products but, it’s clear that they have no intention of going any further than that.
Holtman continued:
“The point is, it’s not super-important for a publisher or developer to know how well everyone is doing. What’s important to know is exactly how your game is doing – why it’s climbing and why it’s falling. Your daily sales, your daily swing, your rewards for online campaign number three. That’s what we provide.”
