How online gaming vendors can increase console sales

If you are an online gaming vendor then chances are you will have enjoyed some pretty healthy profits over the last six months or so. After all, the launch of not one but two next generation consoles – xBox One and PlayStation4 – at roughly the same time is not something that happens all that often.

Needless to say, console fans across the globe camped out overnight at retail outlets and put in advanced orders with online vendors so that they could get hold of one of these machines as soon as they went on sale. As expected, millions of consoles were sold within the first three months, with both Microsoft and Sony claiming they had enjoyed unparalleled success.

However, the truth of the matter is that one console has definitely been outperforming the other in terms of sales – and it’s not great news for Microsoft.

Figures released in April 2014 have revealed worldwide sales of xBox One reached just over 5 million units since launch. Not bad you may think, but that’s still more than 2 million behind total sales of the more powerful (and less expensive) PS4. Moreover, estimates have revealed that Sony’s new machine is outselling the xBox One by a staggering 7:1 in the European market place.

And all this in spite of Microsoft recently offering a limited cut in retail price in the American market and creating a slightly rehashed bundle to celebrate the eagerly anticipated release of Titanfall in March.

Of course, you know what’s coming next.

Microsoft will invariably feel obliged to cut the general retail price of their machines – they won’t like it one bit and they won’t admit it to be a sign of defeat in any way – but it will happen; it’s just a question of when. Experts cannot agree whether this significant price cut will come in 2014 or 2015, or in what form it will appear (there are rumours of a stripped down, discounted machine being developed). However, it is coming and therefore it is vital that vendors like you do all you can to ensure your site is as prepared for this digital D-Day as it can possibly be.

As well as taking care of essentials like making sure you maintain a healthy amount of stock and using effective SEO techniques to retain a high Google ranking, you must ensure your site is up to date with its security measures as consumers – even over-excited ones – will not buy anything from a site which doesn’t utilise effective security measures and display clear SSL (Secure Socket Layer) credentials.

Happily, it is pretty easy to get up to speed with online security measures these days as leading  authority sites are able to redeem and/or create SSL certificate measures to suit all wants and needs in next to no time at all.

Without doubt, having clearly visible up-to-date security measures on your site will give potential customers all the confidence they need to splash their hard earned cash on your products.

So, keep your ear to the ground, keep your stock levels high and keep your website secure, and hopefully – sooner rather than later – you will get to enjoy a very lucrative ‘second wind’ of your own!