How to Build a Product as Addictive as Video Games?

The entrepreneurial culture in India has improved to a great extent in the last decade. Syncing with the advancement in technology, some astonishing products have been created by different startups. The new products that are built to fill the market demand have vastly improved the economy of the country, creating more jobs for the upcoming generation. Take for example the ecommerce site Flipkart founded by Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal in 2007 which completely redefined the ecommerce scenario in India.

These guys and their products can be the perfect role model for aspiring student entrepreneurs who are looking to create an incredible product for the masses. The aspiring students can also look to the advancements in the video gaming industry for inspiration in creating a fantastic product for their startup. Almost all school and college students love to play video games. The inclination to the video games is such that this habit sticks with them even after they grow up as adults.How to build a product as sticky as video games? Here are few correlations between a product and the video games industry tactics which you can integrate in your product while it is in the nascent phase:

1. Recurring revenue

The perfect point for you to incorporate in your product is the recurring revenue. Video games force players to buy their latest versions one after another and it is a never ending process. It’s not like you build one product and then sit quietly for the rest of your life watching it grow. Well it won’t grow; you have to build a new and advanced version of it. Your product should have the capability to expand and at the same time it should attract your targeted customers. Just like the Apple products, the whole world waits in anticipation for the release of latest version months before the launch. Lt. Steve Jobs incorporated such temptation among the users.

2. Easy to interpret

Your product should be framed so that your users can learn how to use them in their first attempt. If you have played video games you would realize that this is a fact. A mere look at the games packaging or a small review tells you what the game is all about.

You can kiss your customer good-bye if you build a confusing and complicated product. Just like Facebook, create something which even a 15 year old can learn to use …

3. Make your products as sticky as the games

This does not require any explanation; let me give you some examples instead which will demonstrate the popularity of some good Indian products that they resemble perfectly to an addictive game.

founded by Krishna Mehra, Aneesh Reddy and Ajay Modani in 2008. According to Wikipedia, these guys created a wonderful end-to-end customer engagement product which now caters over 100 brands worldwide and have over 10 million customers across 6000 stores located in 500 different cities. They have their headquarters in Bangalore.

Another example would be of Deepak Ravindram‘s Innoz which was founded in 2008 along with his 3 other friends while they were in college. Deepak went out to drop out from his college to support his venture. Innoz has now over 15 million user base and still counting.

The excitement and anticipation in gamers just before the launch of a new Halo version exceeds the euphoria that our generation can only associate with their birthday parties. The fan base of games like Halo, FIFA, Counter Strike, Metal gear etc is more than that of some popular musical bands. Having played games like these, we as students are in a better position to create such products which can go viral among our customers.

Author Credit: Anurag