[meheleventyone]

This is a key issue in my field as well. Marketing isn’t just about selling and should also be part of focusing on what to build. Commercial passion projects are awful for this because you have to go from building something for yourself to understanding what people actually want.

Part of the problem is cultural as well. Games in particular lionises unrepeatable successes. Which ends up with very similar “scratch your itch”/“build the game you want” and “build it and they will come”/“just make a good game” generic advice. Often given by people who haven’t succeeded themselves!