The mailout of September 2010′s hardware and software sales figures – due out on October 14 – will signal a shift in delivery from sales tracking firm NPD. Notable changes include removal monthly hardware unit figures and complete removal of unit sales for software.

NPD Group executive director David Riley tells us that the decision to withhold such information was prompted “in order to address the changing sales landscape as well as updates to NPD’s corporate publishing policies.”

Here’s the full breakdown of changes, straight from NPD:

* removal of monthly hardware unit sales figures
* a shift in the Top 10 software from sku level with unit sales for the Top 5, to Top 10 software at the title level with no unit sales
* revised footnote explaining that the monthly retail data reflects new physical purchases, not total consumer spend (digital, subscriptions, mobile games, rentals, used or social network games). The NPD Group will release a total consumer spend report to press on a quarterly basis
* monthly analysis from NPD industry analyst, Anita Frazier, will include software sales figures at both the sku and title level for various new releases

Under the revised terms, NPD hardware and software subscribers are still permitted to release sales figures for their respective products, which means the big 3 will likely continue to send out boastful updates heralding the retail success of their platform each month. Whether actual sales numbers are included, however, is up to their discretion.

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