Values.
What is The Blue Ocean about? What is disruption about? Both are about
choosing different values than the competitors. In both The Blue Ocean
book and in disruption, these new values create a new market. As this new market
grows and grows, as some consumers in the old market switch over to the new
values, the new values become dominant. The Industry becomes changed.
For twenty years, consoles have been competing over the same values
(graphics, horsepower, greater sophistication in software). Even now, it should
be clear that Xbox 360 and Play Station 3 compete over the same values. The Wii,
however, has adopted different values (interface, pick-up-and-play, 5-95 age
group for games).
Blue Ocean Strategy is not about making new markets. It is about adopting new
values which opens up not just new markets but also makes your
competitors irrelevant (since they have different values). This is why Blue
Ocean Strategy matches disruption very closely.
’Competition’ means fighting over the same values. ‘Disruption’ means fighting
over different values. When a console outsells another based on same values, it
is called ‘CONSOLE WAR’ (or ‘symmetric battles’). When a console outsells
another based on different values, it is called ‘disrupting the Industry’
(or ‘asymmetric battles’).
When people turn the marketplace into a Casual Vs. Hardcore, they are
really saying Value A Vs. Value B. The words ‘casual’ and ‘hardcore’ have
been defined by the hardcore. So the word ‘hardcore’ is viewed as some Olympic
skilled video-gamer while ‘casual’ is viewed as a special Olympic, dumb down,
‘everyone-can-win’ retard gamer. (The ‘casual’ side tends to view themselves as
‘normal’ and view the ‘hardcore’ as ‘freaks’).
In “Birdman and the Casual Fallacy”, it pointed out the difference between
downmarket and the upmarket with a number of tiers. Many have mistaken that to
mean upmarket means ‘hardcore’ while downmarket means ‘casual’. The difference
between downmarket and upmarket is the demand of the user. The difference
between the so-called ‘hardcore’ and the ‘casual’ is a set of values.
DOWNMARKET- The user does not demand much for this product. These users
tend to be newer users. Almost all new users begin in the ‘downmarket’ and,
should they keep playing, their demands increase so they travel upstream to the
upmarket.
UPMARKET- The user demands much for this product. These users tend to be
experienced users and/or grew up with the product.
NEXT GENERATION- This is a sustaining upgrade of the Old Values. These
Old Values are graphics, horsepower, and greater sophistication in games. By
sophistication, ‘next gen’ means for a more immersive, more epic experience.
Sophistication is measured in length of playtime.
NEW GENERATION- This is a disruptive upgrade from the Old Values. The New
Values are interface, pick-up-and-play, and greater streamline in games. By
streamlined, ‘new gen’ means for a more utilitarian, more ‘real world’ type
experience (the interface brings the game more to the real world).
UPSTREAM- The user demands more from the product. So the user ‘upgrades’
to higher tiers, to more demanding games. This upgrade is still on the same
value line.
DISRUPTION- The user, either completely new, a former user, or overshot,
changes values by what they define as quality. Disruption is not about
MORE of a quality but CHANGING the definition of quality. As values change, so
does what is defined as ‘quality’.
Since there has been much confusion of this subject lately, let us go through a
test. The six bolded words above are your choice of answers.
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