tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post1141328169152713069..comments2024-01-19T00:21:36.058-05:00Comments on View from the Deadbox: Is Tippmann Killing Paintball's Future, Phase 2Baca Locohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13014510414015288907noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-72052883587670677822016-09-12T01:47:19.111-04:002016-09-12T01:47:19.111-04:00Don't avoid extremes, and don't choose any...Don't avoid <a href="http://www.ufgop.org/pdf/extremes" rel="nofollow">extremes</a>, and don't choose any one extreme. Remain available to both the polarities - that is the art, the secret of balancing. See the below for more info. <br /><br />#extremes<br />www.ufgop.orgAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07720547920308398294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-86148195133438811932010-06-15T01:31:19.889-04:002010-06-15T01:31:19.889-04:00After Reading both pages, I am completely appalled...After Reading both pages, I am completely appalled at what I am hearing. After reading both blogs on this I have decided that I am not in favor of the proposed price for paint increase. I for one do not think it will work at your typical rec ball field. It may work for a few “higher-end” fields but that is not what we are really talking about. The majority of the market is the rec ball players. You are not going to “fix” the sport by “fixing” the “higher-end” fields. I honestly think that the biggest reason for the decline in participation right now is the economy. Paintball is an extra in most households and everyone is cutting as much as they can to get by. With that said, I think we are talking about 2 separate issues.<br /><br />One: Introducing and retaining new players.<br />I think we can best do this by properly introducing new players into paintball. Handing them a rental gun and sticking them on the field to get shot up is not the way to do so. No matter what equipment I may be using, I am going to out play a new player 9 times out of 10. It’s just a matter of skill and experience. I think the answer to gaining and retaining new players is to do what Ben mentioned and introduce them with other new players. When you go skiing for the first time you don’t hop on the double black diamond slopes and think you can ski. I think that field owners need to make a conscious effort to have a separate area or times where new players can play without the intimidation for the experienced. Also, not everyone is going to be good or interested in the sport, we need to be able to accept the fact that not everyone will love the sport we all find so addicting.<br /><br />Two: Keeping existing players involved in the game. <br />I know a lot of players who have recently quit playing because they have lost their jobs or need to focus their funds on necessities. In the US we have a huge “economic downturn” or whatever you want to call it and paintball is suffering because of this. I would be willing to bet it is the same with other activities that like paintball is cost heavy. Right now is not the time to increase the cost to play, you will lose an even larger number of current players who are already finding it hard to play and pay bills. If shooting less paint was the answer, the players that can’t afford a case would simply by 500 rounds and make it last. This is not the case though, they can’t even afford that. I know most of them will be back when funds are available but who knows how long that will be!<br /><br />I honestly do not think that the big corporations are killing paintball, we are! We are so excited to get people into the sport that we have not taken the time to introduce them slowly. Just like everything else, baby steps! We all started out as newbies, it took time to gain the skill and experience to be where we all are now. This is the only sport I know of where a newbie can actually jump on the field and try to play with a “pro” AND try to be competitive about it. <br /><br />Just my 2 cents though!Wegonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-3098065417160990872010-06-13T12:35:13.595-04:002010-06-13T12:35:13.595-04:00interesting discussion. Though I'd chime in wi...interesting discussion. Though I'd chime in with thoughts from across the pond as it might relate to the 'field creating different experiences' for a diverse player-base.<br /><br />The field here in Sweden has designed weekends/prices to cater to different groups and experiences.<br /><br />-Standard bookings. Fixed price. Fixed packages. Average about $40 and up for rental and 500 rounds. they charge more for a bag of 500 than a case. Any day of the week from 8am-7pm (longer days in the summer, shorter in the winter). <br /><br />-First and third Sunday of every month, free walk-on. No field fee, just pay for paint, which (largely due to socialized healthcare and no need to pay high insurance premiums) doesn't get marked up very high (50-75 a case depending on the grade). Less advertised. Simple format games. anywhere from 20-50 players. <br /><br />-Second Sunday of every month. Beginner day. Free rental for utter newbs, same price for paint. no high end ROF allowed. Home sponsored team puts 2-3 players on each team to act as player-refs/positive introduction to the sport. Super easy games. Focus is on taking the new people and showing them a good time. Typically 30-50 newbies with a high rate of return.<br /><br />-Last Sunday of every month, BIG Walk On. All welcome, no field fee, paint sales only, any skill level, any ROF welcome. more complex missions/longer mission blocks. typically 60 players +/-<br /><br />-Various weekends, BIG GAME. 2 days. small field fee, small hike in the price of paint (still cheaper by the case than by the bag), all skill level welcome, all ROF allowed. Complex missions. full field use. Think standard US scenario with 150-200 players. <br /><br /><br /><br />The field has been growing from 10 players in the woods 5 years ago to one of the largest in Sweden, now looking to build an airball field and an indoor facility for the winter*. The sport in general, in Europe is exploding. This is a good discussion for all the small fields over here to consider when figuring out how they want to set up future of the sport, since they can learn from what the USA has done and adjust while the sport is still growing by leaps and bounds instead of .... stagnating?<br /><br />*Should add that they also offer laser-tag with modified A5's for those persons hesitant to try paintball and have a successful webstore, a partnership with the only airball field in town, and several other ventures keeping them comfortably afloat. And again, they are NOT saddled with the same insurance premiums as US fields. <br /><br /><br /><br />Just an example of the field using price controls/their home team and specific scheduling to create a variety of experiences. The newbs can come on newb day, if they have a good time (which is the job of the home sponsored team to facilitate), then they can work their way up through the other levels of gameplay until they are comfortable and enjoying the large scenario games. The high end ROF paintslingers are also welcome on days they want to bring the pain.Bennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-19228100690605961212010-06-13T10:37:57.788-04:002010-06-13T10:37:57.788-04:00In re competition and paint: in the raw competiti...In re competition and paint: in the raw competition department, which requires more skill to use effectively: an unlimited budget for paint that supports unlimited fire support or a limited budget for paint that forces teams/players to make on-field tactical decisions regarding when and if to shoot?<br /><br />I'd submit that the latter not only requires more skill on the field but engenders the learning or more skill.68caliberhttp://www.68caliber.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-13787875439359419842010-06-03T01:50:45.757-04:002010-06-03T01:50:45.757-04:00So Baca, are you saying that your team could have ...So Baca, are you saying that your team could have accomplished what it did in Chicago with 1/4 of the paint? You've said it yourself in a previous post, "paint is control" and I'm sure that is just as important at the top level of play as it is in lower divisional levels. Paint has always and will always help control the game. It is paintball afterall; a game centered around marking other players with paint. Those that argue that the volume of paintball doesn't dramtically change the game, are not being realisatic. And it changes it at all levels, whether it's a bunch of first time players playing recball or two top tiered tournament teams. It changes everything. The questions becomes, "How does it change it?", and "Is the change good ot bad?"Reiner Schaferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11735297279972068471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-75786902232844191632010-06-03T01:13:42.333-04:002010-06-03T01:13:42.333-04:00Faction
Don't know about any personal attacks ...Faction<br />Don't know about any personal attacks unless that's the post you deleted.<br />All your accomplishments are impressive but irrelevant to the point of debate. Just because you're the CEO of GM doesn't mean you're capable of engineering the next generation Corvette.<br />You are mistaking an effect for the cause. Some divisional teams may gain some measure of success by shooting buxkets of paint but it isn't because buckets of paint are essential, it's because it's the easiest solution when the competitors don't know any better. (Which is why I'm not opposed to Hopperball in an appropriate venue, argued in favor of lower ROF for lower divisional play and routinely advocated greater diversity in the types of competitive paintball options available.)Baca Locohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13014510414015288907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-2906008169988990682010-06-02T23:13:45.948-04:002010-06-02T23:13:45.948-04:00Steve Said
"The tournament players that are ...Steve Said<br /> "The tournament players that are leaving paintball due to costs could switch to pump and keep playing at reduced costs, but they don't".<br />All the pump players I know all used to do Airball tourney's before getting into pump.Some because of cost but most because they like that type of game.("Why do you do pump" might make an interesting poll). Pump in gaining poularity in Southeren California and the numer of pump teams seem to be increasing.<br />All the tournaments I've attended make it a point to sell tournament grade paint at a reduced cost so all teams will have enough paint to compete.<br />If you wanted to reduce the amount of paint shot at a game the way to do that would be to limit the number of pods each player could bring to the field.Some Young Gun tournaments already do that limiting the players to two pods and a hopper.<br />Steve said,<br />"The simple truth is that field owners need to step up and take responsibility for ensuring the new players are having a good time."<br />I agree and think that a person new to paintball will return and play more if his experience at a paintball field was fun.The way to insure that is to put newbies with beginners and keep them separate from those with experience and the high end markers.Some fields do their best to "balance" the teams so the fire power is even.I know some Airball fields where you have to be a team in order to get on and play.Teams want to play other teams because part of the fun is real competition which you wouldn't get if you allowed walkons who had never played Airball before.<br />If you want to limit the amount of paint used in a game limit the number of pods a player brings onto the field.That will have more impact then raising the price of paint.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00985247445476558468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-40093044747959338792010-06-02T20:27:43.471-04:002010-06-02T20:27:43.471-04:00Baca,
I really hate self-promotion, but I hate do...Baca,<br /><br />I really hate self-promotion, but I hate dodging an argument with a personal assault even more.<br /><br />I've spent the past 10 years running a national league whose purpose is to get kids who don't play paintball to play paintball, and kids who don't play competitive paintball to play competitive paintball. I've signed a few TV contracts, produced 6 TV shows that I've been told stand up to the best paintball has had to offer on a fraction of the budget, secured a few big-name out-of-industry sponsors, and gotten a few thousand people who would not have otherwise played to do so. I also talk to pretty much every major tournament league promoter on a regular basis, plus a pretty hefty selection of field owners.<br /><br /><br />I have no business telling a Pro player what he should do on the field. But let's give me a little credit here. There's a lot more to competitive paintball than coming up with the best breakout plans for the latest layout.<br /><br /><br />Does the biggest wallet always win? Of course not. But you can't tell me TBD would be competitive if someone told you you only had 25% as much paint to shoot. The team that didn't have that restriction would win.<br /><br />So yes, step 1 to winning is being able to afford enough paint to play. And if everyone only needed 25% as much paint to play, a lot more people could play. And I think the number of people who won't play if they can't spend a bunch of money shooting 1,000 rounds a game is far outweighed by the number of people who can't play because they can't buy 1,000 rounds of paint a game at all.<br /><br /><br />Now maybe you have some insight as to why that is not the case, but how about this time you actually say it instead of dismissing the idea based on "You don't know anything about competitive paintball".raehlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14311405248370629057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-72074322177359247082010-06-02T20:25:23.494-04:002010-06-02T20:25:23.494-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.raehlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14311405248370629057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-71820484724987485552010-06-02T19:44:09.639-04:002010-06-02T19:44:09.639-04:00Thanks, PP
I was just curious.
Tourney ball is re...Thanks, PP<br />I was just curious.<br /><br />Tourney ball is relatively paint intensive but the notion bigger wallets win events is nonsense. The issue is competence. Oftentimes lower division and generally mediocre players rely on volumes of paint because they don't know any better or simply don't have the knowledge or skills to play any other way.Baca Locohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13014510414015288907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-47640980963834583422010-06-02T18:41:43.937-04:002010-06-02T18:41:43.937-04:001) /gasp teh Baca called me out! Does that make m...1) /gasp teh Baca called me out! Does that make me famous? (j/k, I'm a loon; don't ask, I was just born that way.)<br /><br />I stumbled upon VFTD months ago, just by doing some Googlethons I often do to educate myself in the world of paintball. As before said, ima noob, but I'm trying. There's a lot to learn, and I'm especially clueless in the pro and not-so-pro tournament sector of the industry. (It's on the to-do list, but later.)<br /><br />Since competitive paintball is your forte, I admit that I don't always make it a priority to get my daily dose, but it's bookmarked and I drop in periodically. This is the first time I've come out of the shadows to enter any comments.<br /><br />2) I agree that big companies need to invest into some research and number crunching. I'm sure they do it already in some ways, but I still wish they took a different approach at looking at the situation. I think there are probably plenty of hard-working, good-intending field owners who just can't afford to provide the paintball experience they want to.<br /><br />3) By interviewing players abroad, even I've noticed that the big dogs are expanding more into an internat'l paintball market. That's a good thing, though, 'cause everyone deserves a lil paintball in their lives.<br /><br />4) On the topic of regulation...raehl mentioned many comments back how in tournaments, some teams can't afford to have as much paint as others. Would they ever require each player to use the exact same marker? <br /><br />There will always be Richie Rich and Guns a-Blazin' Bob on the field somewhere. Remember--"rich" and "more" are relative terms.PinkPainthttp://www.tristatepaintballers.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-38259446350005529852010-06-02T16:35:26.618-04:002010-06-02T16:35:26.618-04:00Very good general discussion. Thank you all. A cou...Very good general discussion. Thank you all. A couple of comments and one O/T request.<br />The O/T request first: PinkPaint, how did you find your way to VFTD?<br /><br />Nobody picked up on the vertical integration idea but who is in a better position to experiement with develop some universal operating principles for local fields than the giants of teh industry?<br /><br />It's one thing to have a theory, right or wrong, and another to somehow engage the local field operator to make changes that will be in thier best interest long term. I don't think anybody disagrees with the notion that the critical place to make changes is on the front lines at the grassroots. And all the concepts in the world alone won't make that happen.<br /><br />Faction,<br />While I think there's a place for Hopperball you really ought to stay away from asserting various and sundry about competitive paintball because it just undermines your credibility in other areas.Baca Locohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13014510414015288907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-8908039951481872062010-06-02T11:52:51.473-04:002010-06-02T11:52:51.473-04:00$0.10 per ball will cut down on overshooting new p...$0.10 per ball will cut down on overshooting new players by the 16-year-old agg kid. He just won't want to pay for it anymore.<br /><br />As for changing tournament paintball, maybe CURRENT tournament players would not support the change, but isn't the whole problem how few tournament players appear to be left? Say what you will about how many players may not play hopperball, but it seems we've proven most players won't play the way we currently play either. So if we know the current way isn't working, how about we try something else?<br /><br />People fear change, but I think a lot of people would like a tournament format where buying more paint than your opponent isn't a significant portion of the strategy.raehlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14311405248370629057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-18973809518684849062010-06-02T10:47:05.194-04:002010-06-02T10:47:05.194-04:00Chris, what you are saying makes sense, but it has...Chris, what you are saying makes sense, but it has a butterfly effect. It changes more than just recreational play and I'm not convinced it acheives the goal.<br /><br />The simple truth is that field owners need to step up and take responsibility for ensuring the new players are having a good time. Not all fields are like this, but everytime I go to my local field, the beginners and novice players are mixed together and the refs/staff do little to ensure the beginners are having a good time. Lambs to the slaughter. Changing the ROF and/or paint prices isn't going to change some 16 year old "agg" kid from bunkering or overshooting a beginner.<br /><br />Another issue. There is no way in the world tournament players would play "hopper ball". That idea is ridiculous. You might get them to play at reduced ROFs (10-12 bps), but at some point you are changing the nature of the game. Don't take my word for it, do a poll on the Nation.<br /><br />There are pump divisions at some events. They get a few teams, but not anywhere near as many as other formats. Players have a choice. The tournament players that are leaving paintball due to costs could switch to pump and keep playing at reduced costs, but they don't.<br /><br />Paintball has evolved the world over and the formats and BPS's people choose to play is what we have today. This didn't happen through some sort of manipulation, it happened naturally.<br /><br />You risk an awful lot with this theory. You change the nature of the game, risk alienating a huge portion of the player population and don't address the real problem of recreational players having a good time.Stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-28723699899340904462010-06-02T00:07:14.152-04:002010-06-02T00:07:14.152-04:00Steve,
It's not a theory. It's provable,...Steve,<br /><br />It's not a theory. It's provable, basic math.<br /><br />Your problem is you are entirely missing that the cost of paintballs IS NOT the cost to play paintball. A player that can afford $50/case can ALSO afford $50/bag. They just have to miss 1500 fewer times.<br /><br />At the recreational level, if you charge $200/case and players shoot 500 paintballs a day, a field can charge $50/player/day and make $42.50 per player after paint costs.<br /><br />If you charge $50/case, most players will shoot 2,000 rounds a day, and the field has to charge the player $82.50 to make the same amount of money after paying for paint (read: provide the same facilities).<br /><br />The cheaper the paint is at retail, the more of it the field has to buy per player, which drives up costs. Period. End of story. Lower paint prices means more paint shot means more expensive paintball.<br /><br />No one is suggesting that you take $50 cases and just charge $200/case instead. Raising the paint prices is only HALF of the change. In addition to raising the paint prices, you also cut or eliminate admission and rental prices, making the OVERALL cost lower because the cost of paint per player goes down.<br /><br />Free entry and $50/bag is cheaper than $30 entry and $50/case.<br /><br />It also happens that players shooting (and being shot by) a bag of paint a day have more fun than players shooting (and being shot by) a case of paint a day. So in addition to lowering the cost of paintball, you also INCREASE the fun of paintball, doubling your value gain.<br /><br /><br />On the competitive front, if everyone played hopperball, paint costs would go down 75% from where they are now. Imagine how many more people could afford to play tournaments then.raehlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14311405248370629057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-13389643349220842010-06-01T22:18:53.195-04:002010-06-01T22:18:53.195-04:00Steve, first you have to remember we are talking a...Steve, first you have to remember we are talking about recreational play aimed at new and occasional players and getting them to stick around to become regualr players. This isn't aimed at high intensity regualr players, although it is aimed at keepig them in check should they be playing alongside the newer players. New players don't like getting shot at high ROF, for sure, but for a first time player, 6 bps, shot at a sustained rate, is too much. Lowering the ROF from 15 to 10 or to 8 bps, doesn't do much at all, if you don't reduce the overall amount of paint shot.<br /><br />As far as rich kids go, it's not a big enough problem to even mention. They are so rare, that they can easily be dealt with on an individual basis.<br /><br />YOur last paragraph makes no sense at all. This has nothing at all to do with tournament play. As a matter of fact, participation in tournament play would most likely go up, if paint prices at the average recreatioanl field were higher and thereby the game not nearly as intense. There will always be players wanting the more intense experience. Having recreational fields provide them with that exhileration, means they don't need to seek out tournament play. In my opinion, that's one contributor to less participation in tournemnt play in recent years.Reiner Schaferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11735297279972068471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-26349538403069777942010-06-01T20:46:51.068-04:002010-06-01T20:46:51.068-04:00Chris I get what you are saying and it's a the...Chris I get what you are saying and it's a theory and not a fact. And I disagree with the theory.<br /><br />If the high ROF's are driving new players out of the game, why not go directly to the problem and reduce the ROF!<br /><br />If you attempt to do it with pricing you still end up with rich kids and "that guy that always has new shit" :) still shooting at high ROFs. The problem still exists.<br /><br />Plus there is another factor, what about players that enjoy the fast, extreme nature of the current "tournament" game. You risk losing those players with raising paint costs.Stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-59738963018260815912010-06-01T20:18:41.293-04:002010-06-01T20:18:41.293-04:00You always need to remember that there are the kid...You always need to remember that there are the kids out there that can barely afford $50 a case. if you were to price paintball at $100 aa case there would be no more(or very few) new players, and you could kill paintball by doing that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-26295152520393430842010-06-01T18:07:08.232-04:002010-06-01T18:07:08.232-04:00Steve,
You're still missing a basic fact here...Steve,<br /><br />You're still missing a basic fact here.<br /><br />More expensive paintballs make paintball LESS EXPENSIVE.<br /><br />Less expensive paintballs make paintball COST MORE.<br /><br /><br />You can't understand everything else until you understand that cheaper paintballs make playing paintball more expensive.raehlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14311405248370629057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-34402596249970849602010-06-01T14:58:52.799-04:002010-06-01T14:58:52.799-04:00There are several ways to make rec ball more fun f...There are several ways to make rec ball more fun for the beginner player. You can turn down velocity; you can reduce BPS on rentals and refs can enforce lower BPS when beginners are mixed with novice players; enforced player separation distances; provide padding and chest protectors.<br /><br />I think making paint more expensive is short sighted. You make more margin now, but paintball becomes a once a year (birthday) activity. We want paintball to be a twice a month activity. We want to increase volume and grow.<br /><br />I think the VFTDB poll above hits the nail on the head. This sport is expensive and until we get the cost down it will remain a niche, birthdays and bachlor parties kind of activity.<br /><br />Get them on the field first. There are plenty of opportunities to sell concessions, equipment, etc. later. Look at the lifetime value of the customer not just what can be made right now.Stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-64074082557554408062010-06-01T11:22:36.919-04:002010-06-01T11:22:36.919-04:00houdini, I agre that concise data would be awesome...houdini, I agre that concise data would be awesome. I also I agree there is no one solution to the "perceived problem". That is why I have always advocated variety and choices. That's why, even though I run a recreatioanl "woodsball" facility, I promote tournament play when I can.<br /><br />Paintball is going to have a Demand Curve of some sort, no matter in what form it is offered. The overall Demand Curve will shift of course, depending on what is offered. On top of the overall Demand Curve, we have seperate Demand Curves for the various types of offering (ie. speedball, high volume recreataional play, low volume recreational play, etc.). Asia, as well as some other parts of the world have lagged behind the States in paintball. Paintball is still more in the "discovery stage" in Asia. Once paintball is commonly known about in every household (as it more or less is in North America), growth will halt and be exactly where economics dictate it should be, for what is being offered. For now, enjoy the fact that you are in a growing market. Chances are next week there will be more people/teams at the field then the week before (I'm sure the manufacturers are happy about this too). But it won't continue for ever.<br /><br />Growth in any industry stops eventually. Infinite growth is an illusion. However, as an industry, just like any other industry, we should position ourselves, so we maximize participation. Hence, why we should offer products (paintball games/facilities) of different varieties and intensity levels. Offering only high intensity paintball (1.5 - 2 cent paintball level) limits the participation and potential growth of the industry. We don't need an "organized" paintball body to come to that common sense conclusion.Reiner Schaferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11735297279972068471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-64783967442338216822010-06-01T10:41:07.021-04:002010-06-01T10:41:07.021-04:00Wouldn't it be good if an 'organized' ...Wouldn't it be good if an 'organized' paintball body actually bothered to conduct some proper research on the 2010 global paintball market. We can lay blame everywhere and try and come up with a 'one solution' solves everything answer to the perceived* stagnation of paintball but at the end of the day without facts and stats, proper long term solutions cannot be created and debated.<br /><br />*I say perceived stagnation because being the globe trotter that I am, although the States may be suffering with declining participation numbers, I can see first-hand the growth in Asia and other developing countries and companies like Dye, Eclipse and KEE have been quick to tap into these markets. While this sort of global marketing by the big boys doesn't help the local American field struggling to make a buck, it at least helps maintain the profile of paintball as an evolving sport worldwide.<br /><br />p.s. Well done Tampa Bay Damage - from what I did see before the storm screwed the webcast the boys were playing great.houdinihttp://www.paintballnews.asianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-31286895086956362082010-06-01T09:50:24.312-04:002010-06-01T09:50:24.312-04:00That's just it, isn't it? The price matte...That's just it, isn't it? The price matters not, if the entertainment (fun) value isn't there. You can make paintball absolutely free but if people aren't having fun, what's the point? People aren't going to want to take part. At least the majority of people.<br /><br />And that's the direction we've been heading for a while. If you think of the earliest days of paintball when paintballs were 25 cents each as one end of the spectrum and free paintballs at the other end, 2 cent paintballs are way down there on the scale.<br /><br />If we think few people would take part in recreational paintball at 25 cents/ball and few people would take part at the other end of the spectrum (free paintballs), doesn't it make sense that we want to be somewhere in the middle, rather than hugging one of the extremes, so we can maximize participation?<br /><br />I know that's the way I look at it and it works for me and seems to work just about everywhere it's done like that.Reiner Schaferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11735297279972068471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-42765132397782542372010-05-31T11:52:45.696-04:002010-05-31T11:52:45.696-04:00I was at a BBQ with some friends from my home town...I was at a BBQ with some friends from my home town last night and was chatting with a friend who had gone out and tried it about a year ago. His feedback was "I can see the attraction," but he had no plans to play again, saying "I got owned." He played in the general group with a couple friends at one of the "top" (in terms of traffic) fields in the area, and he said everyone shot about a case. I talked to him about how when I got started everyone shot about a bag of paint in the day and he said he couldn't even imagine it as he was getting hit 8 times at once.<br /><br />Just one more player who has decided paintball is not for him because he went and didn't have fun. No idea that he probably would have had fun if only 500 paintballs had been shot at him instead of 2,000+.<br /><br />Paintball players need to get out of their immediate paintball sphere (other people who play paintball the same way they do) and talk to their non-paintball friends. Ask them if they've tried paintball. If they have not, ask why not. If they have, ask what they thought. I just keep running into too many people whose feedback is it was just "too much" or they have a friend who told them it was just "too much" (and I'm not talking about the price).raehlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14311405248370629057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3804718502406028481.post-68952643250822385582010-05-30T10:09:51.843-04:002010-05-30T10:09:51.843-04:00I did some more thinking and re-reading of everyth...I did some more thinking and re-reading of everything and have come to the conclusion that, simply, I'm an idiot, lol. I made a critical error in my reporting in the comment I made.<br /><br />When I quoted dollars spent, I failed to take something rather important into consideration. I said we buy/go through a case of paint each fun-filled day-long outing, which is true, but "we" is the key word. "We" refers to my husband and I. That's two people, duh. We buy one case of paint and share it, so we each go through roughly 1/2 a case all day and spend around $50. And, also a factor in clouding my judgement, a lot of the guys on the field buy a case of paint, but they go in on it w/a buddy, so they're splitting the case as well. So with the refigured calculation, (I swear, I'm not a blonde, lol), we probably fit more into the average spending nationally now, and maybe even below. However, there are a few guys who are in the hardcore speedballers crowd who do go through a case/day individually. They're younger guys who might generally be loose with their money, though.<br /><br />As for the lower volume/higher price scenario, I see the pros and cons of both sides of that argument. I think of it like a hiarchy of priorities and ultimate goals, though, and they all end at the very same connecting point: like Reiner said, getting more people as regular players.<br /><br />It might be a little sacrefice in the beginning, but in the end, it will improve everything as a whole.PinkPainthttp://www.tristatepaintballers.comnoreply@blogger.com