The NPD Group figures have jut been released... showing us absolutely nothing! There are currently over 400 comments against the thread, from owners of various consoles, claiming this shows the domination of Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo. I really wish these people would learn something about statistics... i.e. IT'S NOT REAL!!! You can't compare games exclusive to particular consoles as it's not statistically sound; organisations like the NPD Group are merely rumour-mongers who are making a profit and increasing their own profile by stirring up the confused ire of fan boys.

How can you compare LittleBigPlanet and Fable II? They were released at different points, using completely different marketing strategies and aimed at entirely different sections of the gamer market. Then add in the difference in the console capacity... Blueray means more storage and therefore more capacity for longer, prettier games. XBoxes are much easier to develop on and the lead times for DVD production means that games can be more responsive to changing market factors such as competition. Then add in the current economic downturn (triggered by the US finance sector where it's more important to use catchy names like Fanny Mae than to ensure mortgages are only given to those who can afford to pay them back [I'm British, so using the word "Fanny" makes US financiers seem even more "sub-prime" than their actions currently indicate]), every day people worry more and more about their future and therefore are less likely to pay out for games.

Gamespot, as a subsiduary of a media organisation, are duty-bound to make every story sensational and so don't give their members full possesion of the facts. They know it's all hype, yet they fuel the anger of uneducated teenagers by presenting speculation as fact and even go as far as being complicit in the scam. They say publicising a review on each console's version of a cross-platform game gives gamers a better insight into the slight differences between implementations, but in reality the main differences are due to the opinions of the individual reviewers of each version, the console it's played on and other uncontrollable factors such as whether they're feeling a bit gassy that day or the weather's a bit dull.

So really what I'm saying is: Don't waste your time making idle speculation and trying to draw conclusions from what profit-making organisations tout as fact. It's all business, the truth doesn't make any money and anybody who thinks they can believe what they're told are only showing to the rest of us how truly stupid they are.

PS. I'm a professional statistician... don't believe a word I say either...