Last November, the NPD Group--North America's top game-industry research firm--began releasing monthly hardware sales figures. Around the middle of each month, the media were given access to the latest retail stats for the US and Canada, allowing those following the current console war to keep track of how the Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 were faring. NPD also doled out DS, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable sales numbers, though over the course of the year, it stopped providing figures for the Game Boy Advance as well as the discontinued GameCube and original Xbox.

　　Unfortunately, it now appears the days of being well-informed are coming to a close. Following a report in Newsweek, NPD confirmed to GameSpot that starting with its October figures, which are expected next week, the company is planning to cease providing hardware sales figures to the media. "We began bending the rules because of the incredible media demand but the intent was never to provide these on a regular basis," a rep said. "It's been a year, so it's time to stop." Customers paying for NPD's updates will continue to receive hardware figures but cannot make them public.

　　Though NPD's decision is official, it is not final. The firm said that if the big three console makers--Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft--all agree it should continue to provide the numbers to the media, it will reverse its decision to stop. If not, then it will be up to each console maker to provide its own hardware numbers to the press, an opportunity Nintendo and Microsoft will likely take for as long as the Wii and 360 jockey for the top spot. Whether Sony continues to provide numbers for the PS3, which has not outsold either of its two competitors in 2007, remains to be seen.

　　[UPDATE] NPD reps have told GameSpot that it will continue to provide top 10 software sales figures each month, and is still awaiting word from all three console makers as to whether or not it should stop the monthly hardware sales numbers.