question: How are my (console) gaming statistics obtained by third parties?
comment: Your console collect that information, and the company that owns it then goes ahead and let's one of those third parties have it. Usually that means they sold it, but there are other deals they conceivably could make.
passages: On 27 December 2011, The game "" had 47,115 tracked owners. Of those owners, 25,314 of them had earned the achievement "Explorer", which is worth 40 Gamerscore. Therefore, that achievement had, at that point in time, a TAScore of
  
  formula_5
  
  Because the TrueAchievement score is dependent on the number of people who currently have an achievement, it can change over time, as more people become tracked as having the game, or more people who have the game earn this achievement.
   List of best-selling Xbox 360 video games
  
  This is a list of video games for the Xbox 360 that have sold or shipped at least one million copies, sorted in order of copies sold. Some games may have also been released on platforms other than the Xbox 360, in which case only the sales figures from the Xbox 360 versions are counted. There are also some games not listed that were included in bundle packs with the Kinect.
  
  Section::::List.
  
  /noinclude
   In the UK edition, the lowest numerical score was 2%, awarded to The 4th Golden Satellite Awards for Interactive Media Winner "Big Brother 1". The sequel, "Big Brother 2", was given an even lower score of N/A%, the review explaining that "[PC Gamer] put as much effort into reviewing it as they did in making the game". In issue 255, August 2013, the score of 2% was matched by the review of the re-released , originally given 3% when it first launched. In the US edition, the lowest score awarded was 4%, given to "Mad Dog McCree", unseating the previously lowest-rated game, "Skydive!", given 5%.
   Section::::Quality criteria to be respected.:Confidentiality.
   In addition, the online modes of "Project Gotham Racing 2", "Halo 3", "LittleBigPlanet", "Monster Hunter Tri" and "" all scored a 10, although the single-player of each title only received an 8 or 9.
  
  The magazine has also started to review game related hardware on occasion as well as aspects of Xbox Live. These typically include games available for purchase on the Xbox Live Marketplace and various retail games with Live functionality.
  
  Section::::History.
   Section::::TrueAchievement score.
  
  TrueAchievement score is obtained by taking the base Gamerscore value of an achievement and multiplying it by its rarity, resulting in a more accurate representation of skill required to obtain it.
  
  formula_1
  
  Where formula_2 is the actual Gamerscore, formula_3 is the number of members who are tracked as owning the game (defined as having at least one achievement for that game), formula_4 is the number of members who are tracked as having that specific achievement.
  
  Section::::TrueAchievement score.:An example.
   In addition, they gave the game (or multiple games in the event of a tie, as with "" for Xbox and "NCAA Football 2006") with the highest average score for that issue a "Game of the Month" award. If a "Game of the Month" title receives a port to another console, that version is disqualified from that month's award, such as with "Resident Evil 4", which won the award for the Nintendo GameCube version and subsequently received the highest scores for the PlayStation 2 port months later, and "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2", which won the Platinum award for two separate versions of the game.
   As with previous "Halo" titles, 343 Industries provides a statistic tracking service for players of "Halo 4". Player data such as game history, character progression, and various statistics can be accessed in game or via the Halo Waypoint website. The web services team at 343 Industries utilized the Windows Azure Service Bus messaging infrastructure to relay data from the Xbox Live network to back-end databases, where player data and information is stored. "Halo 4" player data can also be accessed via the Xbox SmartGlass application.
  
  Section::::Development.:Audio.
   VGChartz provides sales data for all current gaming consoles and portables, as well as retail gaming software for all major platforms. The main service provided by VG Chartz is weekly charts of hardware and software sales for the video game consoles sold by Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. This data is presented in three separate charts that each cover one of the three main video game markets (Japan, North America, and EMEAA (Europe, Middle-East, Africa and Asia). The site does provide sales charts for many older consoles, but with the exception of the PlayStation 2, the regular updates focus on the current generation of home consoles and handhelds. The sales figures database can be analyzed with tools on the site for data analysis and graphical representation purposes. Tools available include Americas Pre-orders, which lists the total pre-orders in the Americas for all upcoming titles and the weekly change, Hardware table, where users can see a subset of the data in table form by region and console between set. start and end dates, Million sellers, a table of console software that has sold over a million copies according to the publishers' data is shown, Weekly Records, a chart listing the top selling title in a given week from release, and Milestones, a chart listing the quickest games to a given sales milestone.
   List of best-selling PC games
  
  This is a list of PC games for personal computers (including Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux) that have sold or shipped at least one million copies. If a game was released on multiple platforms, the sales figures listed are only for PC sales. This list is "not" comprehensive because sales figures are not always publicly available.
   Twenty games received a 10/10 score from OXM, but only "BioShock", "" and "Grand Theft Auto V" had been given this score by both the US and UK editions. The nine 10/10 games from the US edition included: "Fight Night Round 3", "Gears of War", "Fallout 3", "Halo 3", "", "Mass Effect", "Gears of War 3" and "". Whereas the nine 10/10 games from the UK edition included: "Grand Theft Auto IV", "Project Gotham Racing 4", "", "", "Mass Effect 2", "", "Portal 2", "" and "Mass Effect 3".
   Best-selling video games of 2008 in Japan (December 31, 2007 – December 21, 2008)
  
  Section::::Hardware and software sales.:United States.
  
  BULLET::::- Based on figures from the NPD Group:
  
  Video game console sales in the US (first six months of 2008)
  
  BULLET::::- Based on figures from the NPD Group via IGN; the games' publishers are listed in brackets:
  
  Best-selling video games of 2008 in the US (by platform)
  
  BULLET::::- Based on figures from the NPD Group:
  
  Best-selling console games of all time in the US (as of May 1, 2008)
  
  Section::::Hardware and software sales.:Other.
   The PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS releases of "Cars" each received a "Platinum" sales award from the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), indicating sales of at least 300,000 copies per version in the United Kingdom. In total, the game sold more than 8 million copies as of May 2007.
   According to the NPD Group, "Modern Warfare 2" sold approximately 4.2 million units for the Xbox 360 and 1.87 million units for the PlayStation 3 in the U.S. during the month of November 2009. In Japan, "Modern Warfare 2" sold 64,000 copies for the PlayStation 3 and 42,000 copies for the Xbox 360 in its first week of sales. The game later sold 117,000 copies on the PlayStation 3 and 61,000 on the Xbox 360. Anita Frazier of the NPD Group reported in March 2010 that the game had sold slightly under 10 million copies in the U.S. alone. The game is no longer the second best-selling game of all time in both the UK and the U.S.
   In Europe, the Xbox 360 sold 2 million units in 2006 and 1.9 million in 2007 according to estimates by Electronic Arts. In 2007, the Xbox 360 sold 4.62 million units in the U.S. according to the NPD Group, and 257,841 in Japan according to Enterbrain. In 2008, the Xbox 360 sold 317,859 units in Japan, according to Enterbrain.
   BULLET::::- "" - 2000 (PS)
  
  BULLET::::- "Ratchet & Clank" - 2002 (PS2)
  
  BULLET::::- "" - 2003 (PS2)
  
  BULLET::::- "" - 2004 (PS2)
  
  BULLET::::- "" - 2005 (PS2)
  
  BULLET::::- "" - 2006 (PS3)
  
  BULLET::::- "" - 2007 (PS3)
  
  BULLET::::- "" - 2008 (PS3, PSN)
  
  BULLET::::- "Resistance 2" - 2008 (PS3)
  
  BULLET::::- "" - 2009 (PS3)
  
  BULLET::::- "Resistance 3" - 2011 (PS3)
  
  BULLET::::- "" - 2011 (PS3)
  
  BULLET::::- "" - 2012 (PS3)
  
  BULLET::::- "Outernauts" - 2012/2013 (Facebook & Kongregate)
  
  BULLET::::- "Fuse" - 2013 (PS3 & Xbox 360)
  
  BULLET::::- "" - 2013 (PS3)
  
  BULLET::::- "Sunset Overdrive" - 2014 (Xbox One & PC)
   VGChartz provides tools for data analysis and charting and regular written analysis of the data referencing major news in the video gaming industry. Sales figures on VGChartz are based on estimates extrapolated from small retail samples. While offering some information about their methodology through their website, VGChartz does not publish any sources on how they get their data. Some sites, including Gamasutra and "Wired News", have questioned the reliability of the information presented by the site. VGChartz has defended the credibility and reliability of its sales data, often comparing their numbers with the ones published by NPD Group, although some charts have been retroactively adjusted to better match NPD's monthly reports.
   There is a separate DVOA measurement for special teams, which "compare[s] each kick or punt to the league average for based on the point value of field position at the position of each kick, catch, and return." 
  
  Section::::Key Metrics.:DYAR.
   On Fridays (Japan Standard Time), the official Japanese website is updated with the top fifty selling video games of the previous week, as well as hardware sales figures for the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DS Lite, Wii, PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Advance SP, Game Boy Micro, Xbox, and Xbox 360. Sales numbers are only provided for the top twenty games on the list, but figures exist for the rest of the games on the list and beyond; they must be paid for and subscribed to. The English website only posts the placement rankings of games and the percentage ranking of hardware.
   Historical data is released in various formats. The LVCVA maintains "year to date" and "year end" tables with on their site back to calendar year 2002. Data presented in graphic form covering several years is easier to visualize.
  
  Section::::Nevada Gaming Control Board publications.
  
  The NGCB maintains a list of publications. Cumulative data is reported in fiscal years (FY) (July 1 to June 30) instead of calendar years.
   Through the Steam platform for the Windows version, the games can collect and report in-depth data such as where the player's character died, completion time, and total victories in multiplayer modes. This data is compiled to generate gameplay statistics for "Episode One", "Episode Two", and "Team Fortress 2".
   Reviews performed by major video game print sources, websites, and mainstream newspapers that sometimes carry video game such as "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post" are generally collected for consumers at sites like Metacritic, Game Rankings, and Rotten Tomatoes. If the reviews are scored or graded, these sites will convert that to a numerical score and use a calculation to come out with an aggregate score. In the case of Metacritic, these scores are further weighted by an importance factor associated with the publication. Metacritic also is known to evaluate unscored reviews and assign a numeric score for this as well based on the impression the site editors get about the review.
   Fan site Gizmondo Central reviewed all games, and "Trailblazer" and "SSX 3" had the best score. "Sticky Balls" and "FIFA Football 2005" were second-best.
  
  Section::::Smart Adds.
   Games are assigned review scores upon completion of a game ranging from 1–10 with a comment from the associated reviewer with his score. The scores generally affect the sales that go along with the game, and as they are in real life, sales are ranked with a number according to how they sold that week.
  
  When the player reaches the Hall of Fame level, they can hire more staff. To reach the Hall of Fame, the player needs to get the critics to give a score of at least 32.
  
  Section::::Development.
   With the launch of PlayStation Move and Kinect towards the end of 2010, renewed interest in the videogame market led VGChartz to report estimates for initial sales of both pieces of hardware. Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft Chief of Staff for Interactive Entertainment Business openly criticized VGChartz data for Kinect on his Twitter feed, later adding "Sorry if my note offended". The comments from Greenberg prompted Walton to write an editorial "Why it is so Easy to Blame VGChartz" in which he addressed why media organisations and publishers try to undermine the data and methods on the site.
  
  Section::::Criticism.
  