Software Publishers Association Releases SofTrends June Data on Computer
Software Sales

MS FLIGHT SIMULATOR TAKES OFF

August 2, 1995 -- The Software Publishers Association (SPA) released its
June rankings of best-selling software titles in six of the industry's
fastest growing sales categories. The new monthly report, called
SofTrends, was prepared for the SPA by the NPD Group, Inc., a leader in
international market research. According to the report, one new offering
is flying high: Microsoft's MS Flight Simulator has soared to the top of
the Entertainment and CD ROM lists, outselling previously top-ranked Myst
(Br0derbund) in unit sales.

The first comprehensive market information available for the June time
period, SofTrends' reports were compiled from information provided by over
7,500 stores and include sales, pricing and inventory data on thousands of
software SKUs. SofTrends retail point-of-sale reports are issued monthly,
within four weeks of the close of the period. Comprehensive monthly sales
reports are released exclusively to SofTrends subscribers but hit lists
are made public once subscribers have received their data.

The top ranked titles for CD ROM, Home Education, Entertainment, Business
Productivity, Personal Productivity and Reference are among approximately
150 software sales categories ranked for SofTrends subscribers monthly.

In addition to providing sales tracking through a retail panel including
computer superstores, consumer electronics stores, mass merchandisers,
mail order companies, office superstores and other distribution channels,
SofTrends conducts bi-annual consumer studies to provide key demographic
information on software purchasers to its clients.

The software industry is in such a rapid state of change that timely retail
sales data is critical to the success of most companies marketing through
the retail channel said Ken Wasch, President of the SPA. SofTrends
provides this comprehensive and accurate data to our members faster than
it has ever been available before, he said.

The NPD Group is among the largest market research firms in the United
States, with international affiliations in Canada, Europe, Latin America,
Australia and Asia. The firm is headquartered in Port Washington, New
York, and has offices in Chicago, Cincinnati, Greensboro, Houston, Los
Angeles, Toronto, London, Paris and Nurnberg.

The Software Publishers Association is the principal trade association of
the PC software industry. Its 1,180 members represent the leading
publishers in the business, consumer, and education markets. The SPA has
offices in Washington, DC, and Paris, France. SPA press releases are
available on-line through CompuServe (GO:SPAFORUM), and from the Internet
(WWW.SPA.ORG).

For more information on a subscription to Softrends, contact Ed Roth at
(516) 625-2294.

Software Publishers Association
1730 M St, Northwest, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20036
202-452-1600,  Fax: 202-223-8756
 
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