#videogame-positioning

The Opposite of PUBG: Why Single-Axis Differentiation Is a Coupon, Not a Strategy

Two screenshots, same week, September 2017.

Why “Better Than Mario” Was the Worst Strategy in Game Industry History

A kid walks into a Sears in 1993. Two demo kiosks. Mario on one, Sonic on the other. He plays Mario for ninety seconds. Smiles. Puts the…

Your Game’s Name Is a Contract. Here’s What Happens When You Break It.

On June 10, 2018, Todd Howard walked onto the E3 stage and broke a twenty-year promise with six words. Fallout 76 would be entirely online…

Journey Destroyed Every Feature and Won Everything

March 2012. A character with no face, no name, and no arms walks into a desert. There’s a mountain on the horizon. That’s it.

The RPG That Killed Combat and Won Everything

Every RPG ever made had combat. Then one didn’t. It won.

How Doom and PUBG become million dollar games and how to replicate their success

Great games don’t “compete.” They rewrite what the genre is allowed to be.

Why “My game is for Everyone” quietly kills it before launch

A Better Game seldom beats Being First

If a video game creates a new category, then it’s likely to become the undisputed leader. But being first does not automatically mean your…

Video Game Marketing Is a Battle of Categories

Before you design another feature, claim the category.

How to replicate the success of Cuphead

What happens if you take a classic run-and-gun game and merge it with the design of American 1930s cartoons?