A while back, I setup a system to track game-updates. It helps give me an estimate of sales on a day-to-day basis since my publisher only gives me monthly numbers. A couple interesting things: I’ve discovered that only about half the copies sold actually get updated. It makes me think I should do more to get players to update their application so they have the latest improvements and bug fixes. I’ve made it extremely easy already, but 50% of the players aren’t clicking that “Update Available” button. I completely understand why Windows does automatic updates by default. I don’t want to force players to update, although, it might not be a bad idea to start popping up reminder windows if players have gone a month without getting an update.
The other thing I’ve noticed is the horrible sales numbers I’ve had since Starcraft 2 came out a week ago. I hope it rebounds soon.