jay said:
So does this leave my question unanswered or do other retailers do bundles that are tracked?
If a console maker does a bundle, that bundle is counted in hardware numbers but
not software numbers. NPD tracks bundles separately, so subscribers can see the exact number of Holiday 2004 PS2 bundles or any other configuration they'd care about. This also applies to different colour SKUs; it is possible to see the exact DSi breakdown between blue and black or PSP go between black and white.
If a retailer does a bundle, that bundle is counted in hardware numbers AND software numbers. Wii + Wii Play would be recorded as 1 Wii Play and 1 Regular Wii, rather than a separate bundle. I do not know how the average sale price for a bundle is reported for either hardware or software.
The Wal-Mart bundles would be even more complicated because NPD tracks Wal-Mart through extrapolation, not through panelling, so it's not clear they'd pick up on those bundles without fiddling with things.
Still, bundles and discounts are the only explanations for why ASPs would vary from the precise existing pricepoints in single-SKU situations.