Research firm NPD brings digital Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox sales to its gaming report

The gaming industry in the United States is about to open up about some of its most guarded data.

The sales-tracking intelligence firm The NPD Group is expanding its monthly gaming report to include point-of-sale information for digital games sold through PlayStation Network, Xbox Store, and Steam. Those are the three major distribution channels for digital console and PC sales in the United States — although it does leave a gap when it comes to Nintendo products sold through the eShop on Wii U, 3DS, and the upcoming NX console. NPD is also not including mobile. Gaming is a $99.6 billion business worldwide, and a growing portion of that total is all digital — by including that data, NPD is ensuring that the information it provides its corporate clients stays relevant well into the future.