Okay, so maybe launching a new business during a global pandemic isn’t the most genius move. What do we know? We play games for a living.
But amazingly, since launching Min/Max Consulting on April 21, 2020, not only have we survived, but we have prospered and grown, from our original three-person operation to four, with the addition last month of the indispensable Justin Blankenship. We continue to expand our client list to include everyone from the ginormous AAA studios that everyone knows, to one- or two-person indie teams just getting their first games off the ground.
We can’t express enough gratitude for those who have entrusted us with their work, along with the friends, family, and colleagues who have encouraged and supported us along the way. We’re looking forward to an even better Year 2, and hope that we may actually be able to see some of you in real life again!
Thanks from the Min/Max gang, Justin, Robert, Jeff, and Ryan
If you ever wondered if Min/Max was really the premier consultancy and research firm for the videogame industry, we have an announcement to make: Justin Blankenship, an 11-year consulting veteran and a former FTC attorney specializing in technology mergers and acquisitions, has joined our team.
We could not be more thrilled. Less than a year after opening shop, our trio of videogaming eggheads has grown to a quartet far sooner than any of us anticipated in order to keep up with our growing demand.
The addition of Justin solidifies Min/Max’s stature as the industry leader in incisive, actionable analysis and assessment. Justin brings unparalleled insight to narrative, franchise management, maximizing licensed IPs, and, of course, gameplay encompassing virtually every genre from team sports to party-based RPGs to quirky indie titles. Bolstering his insights with strong practical recommendations and guidance, Justin has played an integral part in a behind-the-scenes capacity for more than 130 shipped titles over the past decade plus.
And he’s a really pleasant guy to boot. Trust us: You’re going to love working with him.
So please join us in welcoming Justin to the Min/Max hivemind. And while you’re at it, feel free to schedule a meeting with our new foursome to explore the many ways Min/Max can help you and your team achieve your goals.
Yesterday was our one month anniversary! It turns out that time still manages to fly, even when everything is crazy.
And while launching during a pandemic might not have been our ideal scenario, any worries we may have had have turned out to be blissfully unwarranted. In just four weeks, we have managed to sign multiple clients, and have delivered multiple reports. And as we go into our second month, our plate is more full than ever.
To mark this anniversary, and our good fortune so far, we would like to offer a big thanks to all our families, friends, and colleagues for their support–and also to our new clients for trusting us with their business.
We have science to do. Hopefully on YOUR game!
With the holiday weekend upon us, your friendly neighborhood Min/Maxers are looking forward to a few days off to catch our collective breath, but we seriously couldn’t be more thrilled with how things are going so far. And we’re just getting started. If you’re working on a videogame that needs some experienced outside perspective and a good solid round of actionable feedback or marketplace analysis — especially going into this long convention-less summer —reach out to us, and we can help!
Have a great holiday weekend, everyone, and continue to stay healthy and safe. We recommend playing more videogames! That’s what we’ll be doing!
Shelter-in-place orders, major economic disorder, the total disruption of the modern workplace, the indefinite death of sports, a pervasive sense of anxiety and uncertainty about the future…
We sure picked an interesting time to launch this business, huh?
As calamitous as 2020 has been for the world in general and our industry, we here at Min/Max Consulting feel that we are getting into the game at exactly the right moment, to help in the best way we can. With so much in flux, and with so many of the old ways of doing things now in need of dramatic reshaping if not wholesale reconstruction (at least for now), the Min/Max team believes that our insight and expertise can provide invaluable guidance to videogame publishers and developers looking to acclimate to the dizzying changes currently at work in our industry.
The good news is that as unsettled as things may be in the world, this is, for better or worse, also a time when videogames reveal their value more than ever. Indeed, history shows that in times of economic downturns, the videogame industry is a resilient part of the economy, offering long-term entertainment to players at a reasonable price and—more crucially to our current situation—accessible from our own homes, in a way that movies, theater, music festivals, and sporting events are not, for now or for the foreseeable future. Indeed, Valve’s Steam distribution platform hit its single biggest number of concurrent users ever (24 million players) on April 3.
K.K. Slider says: It’s the perfect time to stay home and play!
That creates a real opportunity for videogames, one that even the most mainstream of mainstream media has picked up on: The New York Times, which in the past has tended to run more alarmist-type articles than not about gaming, has published a number of positive articles both discussing more positive aspects of the industry at this time, and recommending games for readers who are hunkered down at home avoiding COVID-19. Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons alone has led to countless articles about being “the perfect game” for this horrific moment in time, thanks to its brightly colored, family-friendly, endlessly addictive gameplay.
But even as there may be more begrudging acceptance of the positive aspects of videogames right now, the reality for those making the games is that—far from being a time to rest and celebrate—the pressure is on to return to some semblance of “normal” productivity, even during this time of quarantine.
That’s where we come in.
Whether you are a publisher, a developer, an AAA studio, or a team of one, Min/Max Consulting is here to help you get your game over the finish line through our expert qualitative feedback and market analysis.
All of which is an extremely long-winded way of saying: Hello world! We are Min/Max, and we are at your service. Come level up with us.
