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Blog Essay: The Indie (Game) Bubble Is Popping

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TaoPhoenix:
Do you know of a nice term/phrase to describe this sort of process?  I've been looking for such a thing -- hoping for something as nice as the phrase ...).
-ewemoa (May 25, 2014, 08:50 PM)
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Ya know, I felt obliged to remove a certain proper noun inspired term here because the topics are fantastically different, so much so as to poke a stick at that sleeping dog called logical fallacies! (Heh and no I won't get dragged into trying to nail down which one! Let's say if it's not a Red Herring, maybe it's a nice Red Striped Bass with a lemon butter sauce!)  8)

This is right down the alley of various economic and/or psychological and or philosophical fields. So I'm darn sure there's several related themes that could be honorably applied here with the seriousness the original post implicitly requests.

I'll file your request as a "sleeper" topic on my desk with a printout because it might take me a while before my intuitive but eclectic slow research style comes up with clues. So it might take me a while. But when I do I think I'll have at least 1 cent to contribute on the theory side.

40hz:
Competent professionals drop out of some markets because it is no longer worth their time to compete there
-Renegade (May 25, 2014, 11:29 PM)
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Even more frightening is that it's also happening in the realm of governance and politics.

Look how many incredibly competent individuals won't even consider public office after thinking about the huge amount of personal abuse they'll open up themselves (and their familes) for by running for one; and even worse, who they'll end up working with if they do win.

Small wonder we get the politicians we get these days. :-\

40hz:
“Negotiation is permissible for mediocrity not for excellence.” ― Amit Kalantri

"Ours is a world of committed hagglers." ― 40hz

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wraith808:
Professionals cannot compete with low-ball amateurs on price or quality.
-40hz (May 25, 2014, 08:02 AM)
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I'd argue that's the actual mindset that makes it frustrating to professionals.  They can't compete on price, but they *can* compete on quality.  And they *can* compete on service.  It's just an expectation of compensation that makes it harder, and they have to look at the long game.

As you said, its happened before and will happen again.  In many cases, it's just that the professionals have become used to an inflated value of the product.

Photography - at one point, there was an inflated photography market out there- when you needed darkrooms and had to have a certain level of expertise that was not easy to come across to develop your images well.  You also had to get the *shot* right- after shoot processing was unknown.  And charging was made on the basis of it being an artisan skill with limited a knowledge pool.

Now, photographers bemoan the mom-tographer, i.e. the stay at home mom who received the DSLR and learned a bit of photoshop and has the inroads into their childrens' parents to take the images and lowball the pricing.  What's really the problem is that they were still charging premium prices for something that had been made easier.  Talent and skill will tell in the end.  But the difference in the A-grade and B-grade and C-grade cannot be so much that quality no longer matters.  Which means an adjustment.

And, on another point, in the so-called B-grade and C-grade market, there are those gems that are actually A-grade, but would have never come to the attention of an A-grade publisher.  The consumers just have to become more discerning and educated, and the critics have to become less commercial and full of hyperbole in their reviews and more honest.

Quality will always tell once the market knows to look.  Just like with crowdfunding, the average consumer has to become more discerning and more willing to put in the effort necessary to see the signs and pick the good over the dross.

40hz:
'd argue that's the actual mindset that makes it frustrating to professionals.  They can't compete on price, but they *can* compete on quality.  And they *can* compete on service.  It's just an expectation of compensation that makes it harder, and they have to look at the long game.

As you said, its happened before and will happen again.  In many cases, it's just that the professionals have become used to an inflated value of the product.

-wraith808 (May 26, 2014, 08:41 AM)
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That might be true in some cases - and up to a point. But seeing how readily 'mediocre' drives out 'quality' is far from being a matter of "mindset." It's much more an observable phenomenon. At least speaking from my perspective gained from operating (and in two cases owning) professional service firms.

I think "quality" as in "the people demand and respect top quality" is more wishful thinking on the part of the service provider. Because virtually all of us went into our industry with the goal of providing responsive and top notch service to the discriminating customer who recognizes quality when they see it.

Guess what? We were responsive. And our service was top notch. And we had customers who recognized quality when they saw it. But they seldom if ever appreciated what we did. Appreciation and gratitude were handled by the check they sent us as far as they were concerned.

Everybody will tell you they insist on quality. But NOT when it provides more than they minimally need AND costs noticeably more than the next guy. Your reputation and the buyer's inertia may allow you to command a somewhat higher price than a competitor for a similar service. But despite nearly every professional's ongoing efforts to educate their clients and raise expectations, the sad fact is most clients could care less how "good" something is as long as it is "good enough" to get the job done.

Because here's the thing: when somebody is buying something from you, most times they just want the product or service - with no strings attached. They do not want to go into business with you. And pricing and quality are your business's concern. Not theirs. Because if they don't like what they get from you, they'll ask for their money back (or not pay you at all) and go elsewhere. Acceptable quality and pricing are a given from the average client's perspective. They wouldn't be dealing with you otherwise.

Which becomes a a business threatening problem when you're trying to raise the bar - and some other provider is coming in with a lesser offering at a very low price point. Even a significantly lesser or marginally acceptable offering - if at a very low price point.

Much as I wish it were otherwise, "Good enough" is the rule. No matter what I want to think. And no matter what 90% of my customers tell me.

"Good enough" drives out quality 90% of the time. Those businesses unwilling or unable to deal with that find themselves in increasing competition for that 10% (and shrinking) segment of the market that actually does insist on quality in excess of their requirements and is willing to pay a premium to get it. The rest of the market is increasingly getting scooped up by the "no-frill" providers and bottom feeders - as the changes in the style and quality of medical care over the last decade so clearly demonstrates.

Maybe 'good enough' doesn't automatically drive out just plain good. But it definitely marginalizes it to the point of where it may as well have. :(

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