Best game

I learned a lot this week.

It’s stuff I’m pretty bad at so it was good to be here.

Here was a senior leader offsite with a client I’ve advised for many years.

I learned a lot about the business and a lot of people who I only knew by name.

But most I learned about obsession.

Obsession

Customers have an obsession with my client’s company and the games they make.

I knew this.

I’ve known they have millions and millions of people obsessively playing their games.

Been to esport world events seeing all these fans going crazy faces painted for the game.

So I thought I got this obsession but this week I got it deeper.

Obsessed

I’ve seen how obsessed players are with their games like a Swiftie.

But this week I saw obsessed players speaking about their games at a deeper level.

And I heard everyone at the company just as obsessed talking about their obsessed players.

It’s a perfect marriage of players obsessed with their games and the company obsessed with players.

They are the same.

Obsessionists

That’s the reason I’m pretty bad at this stuff.

I’m more geared to see customer obsession through a lens of business like how Jeff Bezos makes it highest priority at Amazon.

In a business like Amazon as a customer who buys nearly everything online from them my obsession is nothing personal, just functional.

Also I’m not into sports or TV shows or politics or fandom of any sort so I didn’t deeply get how obsessed all these people are.

Here I got a deep dive into what it means for a customer and company to be obsessed with each other.

Obsessing

One thing the brilliant CEO did was open the offsite and each day with video testimonials from players.

It put front and center who is front and center obsessing about every detail in their games.

Same thing everyone in this room is obsessing about too.

On stage one guy gushed about a new game and showed pictures of him and his boys in their teens and now decades later how this game is a bridge to his childhood and is desperately wanted by his genre of die-hard fans.

Up and down across the matrix they are obsessing on what is best for players which has built a best company and best games.

Watching and speaking with a lot of people I saw many whys they are best in gaming.

It is woven into their DNA.

Backed by their obsessed customer backed by their customer obsession.

When gamers have a good game they sign off saying “Good game.”

This week I learned a lot about good game, really best game.