A competitive advantage is not just being fastest, cheapest, or best, as it only lasts until a competitor figures out how to be faster, cheaper, or better.

In this GDC 2017 talk, producer and consultant Justin Fischer goes over the framework for establishing a competitive advantage like the ones enjoyed by Dark Souls and Ikea. 

Using both strategic theory and practical examples, Fischer discusses how developers can tailor their design choices to make target audiences more profitable and success harder to imitate.

It was an insightful talk that's definitely still worth watching, so developers shouldn't miss the opportunity to do so now that it's freely available on the official GDC YouTube channel!

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC or VRDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.