Capitalism 2 and Capitalism Lab Forum

Hi folks,
I've been playing Cap II and now Cap Lab for years. I like to make things pretty hard on myself. In my current game, I have painstakingly carved out a niche in body care products (my randomly chosen area of expertise). I'm the dominant force in all products in all 5 cities. Occasionally, AI would start selling products, and I'd check in to discover that I had lost 50% of my market share. I decided to not simply nudge them back down; instead, I want to crush them to a pulp and drive them out of the market altogether.

I control my entire supply chain, and they generally do not, so I've hit them in two ways: first, I opened up extra stores in order to compete for the goods that they're selling (the only way I can think of to hit their supplies - I haven't found the industrial sabotage button, yet). Second, I dropped my prices. I have kept ratcheting up the pressure, but I'm now just above cost all the way down my supply chain. I have better quality, better branding, and 75% cheaper products, and I've got 96% or 97% of the market. But these dang AI's will not let go. They're riding right at cost, and they get just enough customers (despite my overall being 75-100% higher) to limp along.

I'm not making money this way, of course, but as soon as I let off the pressure, they just scoop up market share. Is there some way that I can finish them off? It seems a little unrealistic for a company with products that are inferior, less known, and more expensive, to be able (or want) to hang on for years under this kind of pressure. Perhaps because of the settings that I chose, they're able to capture more market share than I am despite having worse quality, branding, and store location, if I leave things as they were. Between that and the fact that I'm feeling cut-throat this game, letting them back in isn't an option.

Suggestions? Experience?

Are your products the best they can be (ie maxed production and raw material quality?)
How is the overall rating and tech compared to your competitors?

How is he managing to take 50% market share from you, his products must be more attractive than yours on some level?
I tend to make heavy use of the 'Firms' screen to get a heads-up on potential problems (ie a factorys profit heading south)

Do they have a full production chain of their own, or are buying some raw materials form you?
If so bump the cost up to drive them off, and set to internal sale so nobody else can start sourcing from you.

You might not be able to fully drive them out, I guess theres only so many products in Cap and the competitors need to do *something* to try and make money.

If I were you Id look at the CEO's personality for that competitor. If he has a high rating in 'Endure loss to avoid layoff' then this is bad news for you.
But there are other ratings there which might give you an idea how best to tackle it (ie, if he's got a low rating in R&D then crank up your own R&D and in a few years he will find it very difficult to compete.

I guess you know most of this already, but seemed like a fun problem to answer

iamihop wrote: I've got 96% or 97% of the market. But these dang AI's will not let go.
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Suggestions? Experience?

In a strategy article I read while playing Cap2, players were advised against trying to gain 100% market share. First, as you have experienced, getting the last 5-10% is not profitable. Second, as you suggest, it may not be possible.
The only way I believe you can completely shut an AI competitor out is to acquire 75% of their stock and merge them. Not only is that an expensive strategy, it usually brings a lot of headaches with it, such as purchasing a company loaded with firms losing money and other bad investments. And there is always another AI out there - will you buy up all of them?
If I can maintain 75% market share and a good profit margin in a product, I am delighted. Anything more than 50% will be highly profitable, giving you money to invest in more and better opportunities in other products or investments.

Etym wrote:

iamihop wrote: I've got 96% or 97% of the market. But these dang AI's will not let go.
***
Suggestions? Experience?

In a strategy article I read while playing Cap2, players were advised against trying to gain 100% market share. First, as you have experienced, getting the last 5-10% is not profitable. Second, as you suggest, it may not be possible.
The only way I believe you can completely shut an AI competitor out is to acquire 75% of their stock and merge them. Not only is that an expensive strategy, it usually brings a lot of headaches with it, such as purchasing a company loaded with firms losing money and other bad investments. And there is always another AI out there - will you buy up all of them?
If I can maintain 75% market share and a good profit margin in a product, I am delighted. Anything more than 50% will be highly profitable, giving you money to invest in more and better opportunities in other products or investments.

I completely agree! I chase profits not market share. Sounds like you're be better off conquering another market then trying to completely dominate one.