Last October, the industry-tracking NPD Group stopped releasing unit-sales data for the best-selling US retail software and hardware each month. Despite that move, some sales data about specific games and systems still slipped out in the form of analysts' notes to investors, but now that leak has been plugged as well.

　　They count the games sold so you don't have to. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter today notified media contacts that he would not be providing his NPD reaction notes to the press any longer at the tracking firm's behest. Another analyst told GameSpot he couldn't comment on the topic. Meanwhile, the NPD Group provided its own explanation for the move.

　　"We have heard from our clients and retail partners that NPD information is increasingly out in the public domain without proper attribution, incorrect context and in other ways that is not in the best interest of our clients or the industry," the NPD said in a statement to GameSpot. "It is our responsibility and right to manage the usage of that information, and our Financial Services clients have agreed to help us and the industry in this regard. There was no 'warning' issued at all. We are not freezing out the media as it has been portrayed. Instead, we are looking to work even more directly with the media than we already do to ensure our information and insights are used responsibly."

　　The NPD report with rankings for the March period is expected to be released in mid-April.