It was only two and a half months ago that Ethereal Darkness Interactive Games (EDI Games) reduced the price of Morning’s Wrath from $19.95 to $9.95 (Download version). The month before the price sale reduction we sold three copies of the game. In July we sold seven copies. In August, we sold eleven copies. Almost half way through September and we have sold eight copies. Now keep in mind that the game is about to have it’s one year anniversary of release on October 1, 2006!
It was our hope that Morning’s Wrath could be a game that has longevity rather than a complete wipe out in sales over its lifetime. In the first few months of release we usually sold 20-30 copies.
There are a few key strageties to getting your game a healthy sales cycle.
#1 – Within the first month of release make sure that the press has reviewed your game! Give them tons of screenshots and movie files so your game stays on their front page for as long as possible.
#2 – Be aware of the time period that you launch the game in. With Morning’s Wrath EDI has had several different types of sales – winter, spring, and summer.
#3 – Be prepared to lower the price of the game if it isn’t selling as strongly as it did when it launched. Your first price reduction should be within 6 months of the launch saying that you currently charge $19.95+. The boxed version of Morning’s Wrath originally cost $29.95. It currently costs $19.95.
#4 – Add your game to portals and retailers. It has taken EDI a while to get Morning’s Wrath onto some portals but the game is currently selling on three portals along with one retailer.
#5 – Patches are a beautfil thing for games. After announcing the release of a new patch, your customers all come back and make the community alive again. Listen to your customers and add in the features that they want!
All of these points should be well planned out before you launch your game. Each of these are key strategies that will make your game continue to sell. Make sure that you announce all updates through Press Releases. You are more likely to reach your target audience if you get coverage from websites over the course of a year rather than the first week of launch.