Let me tell you about this fascinating pattern I've noticed across different industries - what I call the JLJL phenomenon. It's this powerful framework that explains why some products succeed while others just miss the mark, and I've seen it play out everywhere from software development to gaming. Just last week, I was playing Madden 25 and had this sudden realization about how perfectly it demonstrates the JLJL principle in action. The game's suite of modes perfectly illustrates what happens when developers spread their attention too thin rather than focusing on what truly matters to their core audience. This is true once again, and most clearly expressed in Madden 25's suite of game modes. Its offerings are the same as last year's, with most modes getting some attention, but none get enough to compel me to play them beyond Franchise, which I only find enjoyable long-term due to competitive league play.
I've been playing Madden games for about eight years now, and what struck me this time was how the developers had clearly invested resources across multiple game modes - probably spreading their development budget of what I estimate to be around $40-50 million across six different major modes. Yet despite this substantial investment, only one mode truly resonated with me and my gaming community. The Franchise mode, which accounts for roughly 35% of my total playtime, works because it embraces what JLJL is all about - focusing on the core experience that creates lasting engagement rather than trying to be everything to everyone.
The problem becomes evident when you look at the user engagement metrics. In my own gaming circle of about twenty regular players, we collectively spend approximately 85% of our Madden time in Franchise mode, despite there being five other fully-developed alternatives. This isn't because the other modes are terrible - they're competently made, with some receiving what appear to be meaningful updates. But they lack the depth and community-building aspects that make Franchise mode compelling. It's like having a restaurant with twenty different dishes that are all decent, but only one that's truly memorable. The JLJL framework helps explain why this happens - when you dilute your resources across too many features, you end up with multiple good-enough solutions rather than one exceptional experience that solves a specific need perfectly.
Here's where JLJL explained how to approach this challenge differently. Instead of spreading development resources evenly across all game modes, the smarter approach would be to identify the core experience that delivers 80% of the value - in this case, Franchise mode - and allocate disproportionate resources to make it exceptional. Then, use the remaining resources to maintain the secondary modes at a baseline quality level. I've seen this work beautifully in other software applications, where focusing on the primary use case creates such strong user loyalty that it actually increases engagement with secondary features organically.
What's particularly interesting is how this mirrors challenges I've faced in my own work developing content management systems. We once had a project where we tried to build twelve different features simultaneously, only to find that users really only cared deeply about three of them. After we applied the JLJL principle and focused our efforts, user satisfaction jumped by 40% even though we'd technically reduced the feature set. The parallel to Madden's situation is striking - sometimes doing fewer things better creates more value than doing many things adequately.
The real insight from JLJL comes from understanding user behavior patterns. In competitive gaming communities like the one I participate in, we're not looking for variety for variety's sake - we're looking for depth, competition, and community. Franchise mode delivers this through its league structures and progression systems, which keep about 72% of competitive players engaged for multiple seasons according to my observations. The other modes, while occasionally entertaining, don't offer the same compelling reason to return day after day. This is the essence of JLJL - identifying what truly matters to your core users and delivering exceptional value on that specific front.
Looking at this through the JLJL lens has completely changed how I evaluate products and services across different domains. Whether it's a video game, a productivity app, or even a kitchen gadget, the principle holds true: scattered excellence rarely beats focused mastery. The most successful tools in my life are those that do one or two things exceptionally well rather than ten things moderately well. And understanding JLJL explained why this pattern persists across so many different contexts - it's about human psychology and how we form habits around tools that solve specific problems elegantly.
My experience with Madden 25 ultimately reinforced this understanding. While I appreciate the effort put into all the game modes, it's the focused excellence of Franchise mode that keeps me and my gaming community coming back week after week. We've played through four complete seasons now, with our league maintaining about 85% of its original members - a retention rate that speaks volumes about the power of doing one thing exceptionally well. The other modes? I've probably spent less than fifteen hours total across all of them combined. That disparity tells you everything you need to know about where the real value lies, and it's a lesson that applies far beyond gaming into how we build and use tools in every aspect of our lives.
