Strategic Simulations, Inc. - A War Gaming Success Story

When Joel Billings launched Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) in 1979, he was fresh out of college and committed to the proposition that players would find wargaming fun and easier on a computer. The company’s first product, Computer Bismarck (1980), became the first computer wargame to gain commercial success.

Billings has given to the International Center for the History of Electronic Games an extensive array of materials documenting more than 15 years of SSI history, from its founding through its acquisition by Mindscape in 1994. The collection includes documents, market research, company meeting notes, financial statements, clippings, company catalogs, and many other business records—including a printout of the master copy of the code for Computer Bismarck.

*1994’s Panzer General simulates conflict during World War II.*

To understand SSI’s success, it’s useful to consider disruptive innovation. In The Innovator’s Dilemma, Clayton Christensen describes two types of improvements in business: sustaining innovations and disruptive innovations. Many businesses, Christensen writes, focus on sustaining innovations that improve products incrementally but fail to account for disruptive, revolutionary changes. Companies that are more nimble and innovative introduce new technologies and become market leaders. This held true in making wargames… read more >