games and products
know which one you're making.
Making games is easy. Come up with an idea that sounds fun and start putting it together. Making products is hard. Come up with an idea that sounds fun, start putting it together, and then convince somebody else to buy it.
Either one is a fine goal, as long as you know which one you're going for. Go into a project with the wrong goal and you probably won't reach it.
I think game developers end up with so many side projects because they're curious people who like chasing new, shiny things. A lot of great games come out of that. They just don't get made until somebody puts the wandering aside long enough to finish one.
I'm as guilty of this as anyone. If you're making a game, let it wander; that's where the fun stuff comes from. If you're making a product, pick the idea, park the side projects, and finish the thing somebody is going to pay for. Just don't start one and call it the other.