As a grumpy old, narrow-minded, console-hating PC gamer, my friends will confirm that there're two things I've said about digital sales. First of all, I've always been firm in my belief - even back in the mid-2000s - that the next console generation would have a strong focus on releasing games digitally, online. Secondly - for about the same amount of time - I've been saying that once these consoles start offering all big titles digitally as well as boxed, sales charts and NPD reports would start including digital sales. Thus proving just how vital the PC gaming market actually is.

NPD reports have, for years, more or less only included sales of boxed games. As we all know, while the console gamers were forced to buy all the major releases in retail, PC gamers have long enjoyed the leisure of getting games by simply clicking their mouse buttons, without noticing the money quietly leaving the account at the other end of the mill. Because of this fact, these sales reports gave the impression that nobody bought games on the PC, and it gave more fuel to trolls and other imbeciles who genuinely believed that the PC was merely a hub for pirates, and nothing more. Or that PC gaming was dead.

Though it's hard to disagree with my two predictions now - especially for you fellow PC-gamers who can see just how alive the platform is - I was met with quite a bit of opposition back in the day, when Steam had just started taking off with third party games. I heard so much strange justification for why consoles would never go digital. Piracy and bandwidth were among the reasons.

Well, lo and behold. The Xbox One's many controversial announcements and reveals have proven my theory right. As a result, sales reports have already started focusing on the sales of downloadable games. MCV are now reporting on the world's first chart that produces accurate sales figures for digitally downloadable games on the PC. The data supplied - collected by the UK trade association UKIE - does not come from retailers, but from the publishers and developers themselves. This is due to the nature of the PC being open, and not technically owned by anyone.

Before I let you scroll down to check out what's been a hot seller of March, it's important to understand that this list is in no way complete. Because publishers are responsible for posting their own sales numbers to UKIE, only the games from publishers who have done so, are shown in the list. Games from the juggernaut Activision Blizzard are nowhere to be found, for example. So, without further due, here are the games that topped the lists of digital, boxed and combined sales on the PC in March:

MARCH 2013: PC boxed & digital game sales combined (Units)

1. SimCity (Electronic Arts)

2. BioShock Infinite (2K Games)

3. The Sims 3: University Life (Electronic Arts)

4. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (Activision Blizzard)

5. Tomb Raider (Square Enix)

6. Football Manager 2013 (Sega)

7. Battlefield 3 (Electronic Arts)

8. The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts)

9. Just Cause 2 (Square Enix)

10. Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)

MARCH 2013: PC digital game sales (Units)

1. BioShock Infinite (2K Games)

2. SimCity (Electronic Arts)

3. Tomb Raider (Square Enix)

4. Battlefield 3 (Electronic Arts)

5. The Sims 3: University Life (Electronic Arts)

6. Just Cause 2 (Square Enix)

7. Hitman Absolution (Square Enix)

8. Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)

9. Football Manager 2013 (Sega)

10. Trials Evolution Gold (Ubisoft)

MARCH 2013: PC boxed sales (Units)

1. SimCity (Electronic Arts)

2. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm (Activision Blizzard)

3. The Sims 3: University Life (Electronic Arts)

4. Tomb Raider (Square Enix)

5. Football Manager 2013 (Sega)

6. The Sims 3 (Electronic Arts)

7. BioShock Infinite (Take 2)

8. The Sims 3: Seasons (Electronic Arts)

9. Guild Wars 2 (NCsoft Europe)

10. Crysis 3 (Electronic Arts)

MARCH 2013: PC digital full game sales (revenue)

1. SimCity (Electronic Arts)

2. BioShock Infinite (2K Games)

3. Tomb Raider (Square Enix)

4. Battlefield 3 (Electronic Arts)

5. Football Manager 2013 (Sega)

6. Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)

7. Crysis 3 (Electronic Arts)

8. Tomb Raider Survival Edition (Square Enix)

9. Assassin's Creed 3 (Ubisoft)

10. Guild Wars 2 (NCsoft Europe)

MARCH 2013: PC digital expansion game sales (revenue)

1. The Sims 3: University Life (Electronic Arts)

2. The Sims 3: Seasons (Electronic Arts)

3. Anno 2070 - Deep Ocean (Ubisoft)

4. The Sims 3: Ambitions (Electronic Arts)

5. The Sims 3: 70's, 80s & 90s Stuff (Electronic Arts)

6. The Sims 3: Generations (Electronic Arts)

7. The Sims 3: World Adventures (Electronic Arts)

8. Anno 2070 DLC Complete Pack (Ubisoft)

9. Sleeping Dogs - DLC Collection (Square-Enix)

10. Total War: Shogun 2 - Rise of the Samurai Campaign (Sega)

While Bioshock Infinite was a highly anticipated, hardcore FPS, SimCity was a highly anticipated game that, frankly was marketed toward anyone with human DNA. It's no wonder then, that SimCity topped the list of combined sales. Especially considering how the game was released during the first week of March, and Bioshock Infinite was released during the very last week.

This list begs the question; Is such a list - where the figures provided come from the publishers themselves - a trustworthy way of doing this? The questions have been answered in a Q&A MCV had with UKIE.

"Ipsos are a recognised leader in the gathering, management and presentation of industry data. They meet key ISO standards ISO27001 and ISO9001 covering data security and storage. Ipsos also have an established industry track record through their leadership of the major consumer research project, GameTrack. Ipsos have developed a robust and transparent auditing process that puts the onus on data suppliers proving where they data is sourced. A data supplier also has to maintain good records, will be audited regularly and agrees that Ipsos can undertake spot checks as required. As the digital chart is a project for the industry we believe companies will be compelled to deliver accurate data. Those found not doing so will be removed from the project."

Though this way of providing sales data may be susceptible to corruption and false stats, I believe it's nontheless an important first step in providing figures for sales of downloadable games. In doing so, we will get a more clear picture of just how much games on the PC can actually sell, and how viable the PC is in today's gaming market.