UKIE is planning on launching a digital chart next month, but many wonder how on earth the UK games industry trade group will be able to get an accurate measurement of digital sales because it is missing two major players in the space. The problem is that UKIE's digital charts won't include EA's Origin or - more importantly - Valve's Steam.
"I would love every company to be involved in the project. Are we going to get every company? Probably not," UKIE's Sam Collins told GamesIndustry.biz.
While Collins would love to work with Steam, he explained that UKIE can collect the data it needs straight from the individual UK publishers.
"Their main business is as a distributor," he continued. "We are getting data that publishers and developers and IP owners themselves have. So if you're a publisher or developer selling on Steam, those publishers and developers are giving us those sale figures. So they're coming directly from the intellectual property owner and not from Steam."
A number of UK-based digital retail platforms are already involved, including Get Games, GEM, and Green Man Gaming. We do not know if other services such as GameStop's and GameFly's will be included, or places like GamersGate.
There are around 25 companies currently included in the data set. The first chart will launch in February, and feature UK download figures from digital retailers and publishers that handle digital sales directly like Disney, Ubisoft, Sega, Square Enix, NCsoft and Warner Bros.
Source: Gi.biz
