A funny thing about developing software is demand

I think he's got it all wrong. The customer knows what they want. They're asking for it.

The problem isn't the 'demand', it's the execution. They produced a sub-par game based on an old amazing game. It failed in all the ways they predicted... Clearly, they knew they were unable to provide a suitable experience. I'm sure all those issues could have been overcome if they were actually motivated to do it, instead of proving themselves right.

Aiming, for instance, could be fixed by having a proper camera and providing enough of a guide to know where you're aiming, without showing the exact spot it'll hit. Underground, by having proper cut-aways.

Coda is the same way. There are tons of problems to solve, sure, but there were tons of problems to solve to create Coda in the first place. Either you can solve them or you can't. If you can't, you probably shouldn't put time into it. You'll only disappoint your customers.

I’m skeptical Team17 is still selling software as claimed in this 2010 article, as their website reads “© 2002 Team 17” and purchase links end in a 404 error!

Still, a good article, even if the idea that users don’t always know what they really want isn’t so new.

Edit: somehow I was on their old site. http://worms.team17.com/ - odd they let that subdomain stagnate!