The nature of the market in which you compete is NOT predetermined. 

The marketing situation changes as you change your strategy and as your competitors change theirs.  So the situation is dynamic. 

 In a dynamic market it is rare that a manager can succeed without paying close attention to competitors and what they are doing, and without thinking through what they are likely to do.  Success in The Marketing Game! is much more likely for those managers who take some time to think carefully about the competitive effects in the market.

Remember that you know a lot about your competitors!  After all, they start in exactly the same situation that you start.  And along the way the face many of the same limitations and constraints, and they are working from the same types of information and face the same costs.  You may be able to learn as much from what your competitors have done as you can learn from the results produced by your own decisions. However, that isn’t automatic. For it to happen you have to consciously think about what why they have done what they’ve done and what you can learn from it.