Research firm The NPD Group will no longer release its weekly charts of the ten best-selling PC games at United States retailers to the media, the company has confirmed with Shacknews. It will still issue monthly PC sales charts to the public, though, with the entirety of the sales data, as always, available to NPD's paying clients.

No reason was given for the switch, though we've asked for more details. Back in 2007, the company opted to stop publicly releasing its monthly sales figures and listings for consoles, though it quickly reversed that decision following public outcry.

However, PC digital distribution outlets Steam and Direct2Drive continue to release their weekly worldwide sales charts. And with NPD's week-long delay of its retail sales data no longer presenting an obstacle for per-week comparisons with Steam and Direct2Drive's data, the digital distribution charts will now be posted in a more timely manner.

As such, the past two week's worth of Direct2Drive and Steam charts follow:

Direct2Drive's Top Ten (6/7 - 6/13)

1. The Sims 3 - Electronic Arts
2. The Sims 3 (Mac) - Electronic Arts
3. Prototype - Radical... Read more

Given that The Sims 3 sold over 1.4 million units at launch, it's little surprise that it topped not only the weekly PC games sales chart but overall PC software sales too.

Digital distributer Direct 2 Drive also saw a glut of Sims 3 sales, including a flood of Mac edition sales. Over on Valve's Sims-less Steam, Left 4 Dead has risen to claim the top spot unperturbed by the E3 announcement that Left 4 Dead 2 is coming November 17.

NPD's Top Ten (5/31 - 6/6)

1. The Sims 3 / EA Maxis / $49
2. The Sims 3 Collector's Edition / EA Maxis / $69
3. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $20
4. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $38
5. World Of Warcraft Battle Chest / Blizzard / $40... Read more

Research group NPD's list of the 20 best-selling PC games in May shows mostly the usual players--Blizzard and Maxis--in their usual comfy chairs, slightly rearranged.

Spore climbs five places following a $10 price cut, while StarCraft 2's imminent beta no doubt plays a hand in the StarCraft Battle Chest's rise of two spots. Outsiders Left 4 Dead and Empire: Total War manage to retain their lofty positions from last month.

Fallout, Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics make a welcome and notable comeback in the $20 Fallout Trilogy pack. Fellow RPG Oblivion also returns in Game of the Year form at 17.

1. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $39
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $20
3. World of Warcraft Battle Chest / Blizzard / $38
4. World of Warcraft / Blizzard / $20
5. Empire: Total War / Creative Assembly / $43... Read more

THQ's mixed martial arts hit UFC 2009 Undisputed reigned supreme over the North American console software charts in May.

The fighting game--developed by Japanese studio Yuke's Osaka--recorded over one million sales between the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, which placed first and fourth place on the list, respectively.

Sucker Punch's PlayStation 3-exclusive action game inFamous, released on May 26, recorded 175,900 sales in its first six days of business.

May's North American console software leaders:

1. UFC 2009 Undisputed (Yuke's Osaka, Xbox 360) - 679,600 units
2. Wii Fit w/Balance Board(Nintendo, Wii) - 352,800 units
3. EA Sports Active Bundle (EA Sports, Wii) - 345,800 units
4. UFC 2009 Undisputed (Yuke's Osaka, PS3) - 334,400 units
5. inFamous (Sucker Punch, PS3) - 175,900 units... Read more

At long last, digital distribution outlet Steam has joined NPD and Direct2Drive in providing weekly sales data, providing for a wider view of the PC gaming landscape.

Of course, there's a twist. Steam lists its weekly sales by revenue, instead of unit sales, so comparisons between NPD's retail charts and D2D's downloads aren't valid. Regardless, it's more information than we had before, which is always nice.

Charts for the week of 5/24 - 5/30 follow below. Remember, NPD only tracks retail sales in North America, while Steam and D2D provide a glimpse of worldwide download sales. Lastly, expect The Sims 3, which hit on June 2, to dominate next week's listings.

NPD's Top Ten (5/24 - 5/30)

1. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $20
2. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $39
3. Spore / EA Maxis / $40
4. World Of Warcraft Battle Chest / Blizzard / $40... Read more

Creative Assembly's Empire: Total War gained ground on the sales list in an otherwise slow week for the PC retail sector.

The strategy title, bolstered by several recent patches, managed a third place finish, while list stalwarts World of Warcraft, Left 4 Dead, Spore and Fallout hung on for largely typical placement.

On the Direct2Drive side, the outlet's 75% off sale for Mount & Blade kept that game at the top, while Sacred 2, Battlestations: Pacific and the new Civilization IV: The Complete Edition rounded out the leading titles.

NPD's Top Ten (5/10 - 5/16)

1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $39
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $20
3. Empire: Total War / Creative Assembly / $33
4. World Of Warcraft Battle Chest / Blizzard / $35
5. Left 4 Dead / Valve / $29... Read more

As with last week and the weeks before, the lack of a major PC release means that NPD's list of the best-selling PC games at US stores hasn't changed much. WoW and Spore moved up, Empire and Fallout went down, and Bejeweled replaced Demigod.

Fortunately, digital download provider Direct2Drive saw a bit more variety, thanks a 75% off sale on Mount & Blade and a 50% off promotion on Men of War and Cryostasis.

NPD's Top Ten (5/3 - 5/9)

1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $36
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $20
3. Left 4 Dead / Valve / $29
4. World Of Warcraft / Blizzard / $20
5. World Of Warcraft Battle Chest / Blizzard / $40... Read more

Lacking the monster sales of last April's Grand Theft Auto 4, the NPD charts for April 2009 mark a fairly uneventful period in North American videogame sales.

Wii Fit lead the software pile with 471,000 units sold, with Pokemon Platinum followed up closely with 433,000 units. EA's newcomer The Godfather II captured two slots on the list for over 200,000 combined sales, while Guitar Hero Aerosmith unbelievably beat out Guitar Hero Metallica in its debut month.

"The big story for the month is the performance of portable game hardware sales as propelled by the release of Nintendo's DSi," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier of the system's 1.04 million sales. "The NDS platform accounted for 31 percent of total industry unit sales this month across all categories."

April's best-selling software:

1. Wii Fit w/Balance Board (Nintendo, Wii) - 471,000 units
2. Pokemon Platinum Version (Nintendo, NDS) - 433,000
3. Mario Kart w/Wheel (Nintendo, Wii) - 210,000
4. Wii Play w/Remote (Nintendo, Wii) - 170,000
5. The Godfather II (EA Redwood Shores, 360) - 155,000... Read more

Sales-tracking research firm The NPD Group has once again chimed in with its monthly analysis of the United States' software market, providing us with a list of the 20 best-selling PC games at traditional US retailers during April 2009.

The Warcraft III Battle Chest joined the six Blizzard games that were already on March's list, meaning that Blizzard served up 35% of the top 20--more than any other studio--all by itself. World of Warcraft's Lich King expansion regained the top spot from Creative Assembly's Empire: Total War, and Relic's Dawn of War II dropped from #4 to #15.

Also of interest is the sudden appearance of Illusion Softworks' 2003 shooter Hidden & Dangerous 2 at #20. I'm sure the $5 price helped, but that's certainly an odd revival.

1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $35
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $20
3. World Of Warcraft Battle Chest / Blizzard / $36
4. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor / Relic / $29
5. Empire: Total War / Creative Assembly / $48... Read more

If you've been paying attention to the recent sales charts, you pretty much know what to expect from NPD and its listing of the ten best-selling PC games at U.S. retailers.

Still, there's one surprise tucked away in there: Interplay's recent "Fallout Trilogy" bundle--packing Fallout, Fallout 2, Fallout Tactics--popped up as #7 on NPD's chart.

As usual, digital distribution outlet Direct2Drive saw some significant changes to its best-sellers over last week, mostly thanks to a recent sale on Ubisoft-published titles.

NPD's Top Ten (4/26 - 5/2)

1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $32
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $20
3. Left 4 Dead / Valve / $29
4. World Of Warcraft Battle Chest / Blizzard / $39... Read more

Following this morning's announcement of Nintendo's earnings, the company has released life-to-date, worldwide sales numbers for many of the Wii and Nintendo DS' best-selling games.

The list shows that over 45 million copies of Wii Sports have been put into the hands of gamers, while Wii Play and Wii Fit have both shifted around 20 million units. Mario Kart Wii, Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Mario Galaxy have sold over 30 million copies combined.

On the DS side of things, Nintendogs reigns supreme, with Nintendo creating 22 million virtual pet owners. New Super Mario Bros. has moved 18.4 million units, while Personal Trainer: Cooking, of all games, has managed to match that figure.

The full list of titles, via Kotaku, is copied below.

Nintendo Wii

• Wii Sports - 45.7 million (includes those bundled with hardware)
• Wii Play - 22.9 million
• Wii Fit - 18.2 million... Read more

Publisher THQ today announced the results of the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2009, revealing a net loss of $431.1 million. Described by THQ CEO Brian Farrell as "a challenging fiscal 2009," the year saw higher losses and lower sales than FY2008.

Net sales dipped to $830 million in FY2009, down from $1.03 billion in FY2008, with FY2008's net loss coming at a relatively less severe $35.3 million. Despite the slide, Farrell expressed confidence for the next year, citing THQ's recently completed cost-cutting measures and its increased focus on quality, brands and profitability.

The company also touted its recent sales highlights, pointing out that Saints Row 2 has now shipped over 2.8 million units and noting that Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II "debuted as the best selling PC game across major video game markets worldwide."

In a separate announcement, THQ added that it has "signed a commitment letter for a $35 million senior secured credit facility with Bank of America, NA," with THQ CFO Paul Pucino explaining that "we are pursuing this credit facility as a prudent backup to our $141 million cash and short-term investment balance at March 31, 2009."

If you saw the sales charts from last week, then you've got a pretty good idea of what to expect from the latest listings. On the retail side, NPD reports that some games swapped positions in the US, but there weren't any new additions or subtractions.

As for Direct2Drive, the digital distribution outlet saw three games replaced in the top ten, with ACE Team's first-person brawler Zeno Clash debuting in the top spot.

NPD's Top Ten (4/19 - 4/25)

1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $31
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $20
3. World Of Warcraft Battle Chest / Blizzard / $32
4. Left 4 Dead / Valve / $29
5. Empire: Total War / Creative Assembly / $50... Read more

The software sales charts are in for the second full week of April, showing a strong debut for the piracy-ridden Demigod at US retailers, with Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor continuing to do well at both retail outlets and digital distributor Direct2Drive.

While NPD's list mostly reorganized that of last week, Direct2Drive saw some more significant changes, with MLB 2K9 and Civ IV charting due to newly lower prices.

NPD's Top Ten (4/12 - 4/18)

1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $38
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $20
3. Demigod / Gas Powered Games / $39
4. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor / Relic / $29
5. Empire: Total War / Creative Assembly / $50... Read more

With Square Enix's $120 million purchase of Eidos now complete, lifetime sales figures of their major franchises have been revealed.

The information was provided as part of Square Enix's "Corporate Strategy Meeting," during which the company discussed "synergies" and presented materials on the "Eidos Integration."

Square Enix
• Final Fantasy franchise > 85 million units
• Dragon Quest franchise > 47 million units
• Kingdom Hearts franchise > 12 million units
Eidos
• Tomb Raider franchise > 30 million units
• Hitman franchise > 8 million units

Details on the sales of other Eidos-owned franchises, including Kane & Lynch (around 1.75 million units) and Deus Ex (over 2 million units), were also provided in bar graph form, along with individual figures for the various iterations of Hitman and Tomb Raider.

It's been five months since one of Her Interactive's Nancy Drew games broke into the top ten, but the prodigal daughter has returned thanks to a cheap jewel case edition.

While Direct2Drive's top ten downloads packs several of that week's new releases, including The Chronicles of Riddick, only Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor managed to appear on both D2D's chart and NPD's list of top-selling games at US retailers.

It was also a week for returning vets, with Left 4 Dead and the StarCraft Battle Chest both re-appearing on NPD's weekly list, and Universe at War hitting D2D's due to a sale.

NPD's Top Ten (4/5 - 4/11)

1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $36
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $20
3. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor / Relic / $29... Read more

While analysts had predicted that Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars would see first month sales of anywhere from 200K to 450K units, sales-tracking group NPD has revealed that Rockstar's Nintendo DS exclusive sold far under those expectations.

From its release on March 17 to the end of NPD's tracking period on April 4, the mature-rated title sold a mere 89,000 units in the US, the firm confirmed with Joystiq. Publisher Take-Two's internal sales expectations for the game are unknown.

"The disappointing first month sales reinforce our view that achieving meaningful success on Nintendo platforms remains a very difficult proposition for third party publishers," Cowen Group analyst Doug Creutz told Gamasutra, noting his belief that the lower-than-expected sales were "not due to any misexecution on Take-Two's part."

Offering a glimpse into the fascinating world of game sales, research group NPD has released its take on the software and hardware sales in the US over 3/1/09 to 4/4/09.

New releases dominated the software chart, with Resident Evil 5 surpassing 1.5 million units thanks to a dual-platform debut, and Halo Wars racking up an impressive 639K.

Meanwhile, Nintendo continued its dominance of hardware sales charts.

The month's ten best-selling consoles games were:

1. Resident Evil 5 (Capcom, 360) - 938,000 units
2. Pokemon Platinum Version (Game Freak, DS) - 805,000 units
3. Halo Wars (Ensemble, 360) - 639,000 units
4. Resident Evil 5 (Capcom, PS3) - 585,000 units
5. Wii Fit (Nintendo, Wii) - 541,000 units
6. MLB 09: The Show (Sony, PS3) - 305,000 units
7. Killzone 2 (Guerrilla Games, PS3) - 296,000 units... Read more

Rolling its weekly charts into one monthly bundle, sales-tracking firm NPD has compiled a list of the 20 best-selling PC games at US retailers during March 2009.

As seen below, Empire: Total War has ended Lich King's four month-long reign of the monthly charts, with the Diablo and StarCraft Battle Chests continuing to hold ground.

1. Empire: Total War / Creative Assembly / $48
2. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $38
3. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $19
4. Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II / Relic / $48
5. World Of Warcraft Battle Chest / Blizzard / $38
6. World Of Warcraft / Blizzard / $20
7. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Exp. Pack / EA Maxis / $19... Read more

As we kick off the new week, PC software sales data from the first week of April has arrived from both marketing research group NPD and digital retailer Direct2Drive.

Without any major releases that week, The Sims 2 and its expansion packs once again overtook the traditional United States retailers that NPD tracks, while Direct2Drive saw sales of Space Siege pick back up thanks to a half-price sale on the action-RPG.

NPD's Top Ten (3/29 - 4/4)

1. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $16
2. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard / $38
3. Empire: Total War / Creative Assembly / $50
4. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Exp. Pack / EA Maxis / $16... Read more