What Shape is Paintball In?
Wednesday December 10, 2008
With the recent collapse of the NPPL, John Amodea, a long-time player and writer, has begun a series of articles about what has gone wrong with paintball and why the sport is struggling right now. He is in the process of writing a five part series about the state of the game including a detailed history of where the sport has come from and some thoughts on where it needs to go.
While I can't say that I agree with everything he has written so far, I definitely find lots of truth in his words and I agree with many of his main points. It's also fascinating to hear from a long-time industry insider and learn how his perspective differs from my perspective as an avid player and outside observer.
What I am interested in is to find out what everyone's opinion of the sport is. Is paintball falling in popularity? Does it have an image problem? Is there a need for paintball to "get back to its roots"? I basically want to know if people think paintball, as a sport, is doing all right or if there are more serious issues than simply the struggling economy that are causing so many paintball companies to struggle.
Comments
Paintball as a sport is dying, this is not because of a bad economy or discrimination because it involves guns (I know, wrong term), this is because as a competitive community we are a joke. Cheaters are everywhere infesting every corner of the game that they can, and nothing is being done to stop them. The refs don’t care, the sponsors don’t care and the league itself doesn’t seem to care. This causes all of the fair, legit players to leave and who are we left with? A bunch of unprofessional players whose opinion on cheating is “if you don’t like it then leave”.
Now paintball got on television, but to no avail, why was that? Because it was boring. 6 guys, 3 bunkers, 15 seconds and about 3000 paintballs. After 5 minutes I was bored to tears and every person that I talked to who had seen it thought the exact same way. Getting paintball on TV was the communities biggest objective for a long time, and it failed horribly. We need to use a better format, one that encourages people to watch and others to play.
I have more to say but I’m afraid my response would be longer than your post.
I would agree, for the most part, with the first commenter. The word “gun” (as in paintball gun) has become so vilified that it has cast a dark shadow over the sport. Many parents, for example, will not let their children participate. Most minors need a subsidy from adults to play. As much as I hate political correctness, perhaps we should eliminate “gun” from the sport and use the word “marker.” Perhaps we should, as a group, discourage markers that look like or are modified to look like real firearms. If we do not do these things, I believe we will be legislated into remote ares and/or private property. When that happens, where are we going to get air and CO2?
Even for recreation and beginners, the sport is expensive! Fewer pb places are available these days. Downward pressure on prices has been eliminated, and costs are going up even for those of us with our own equipment. For example, my economic / financial situation has taken a hit along with the economy. I modify my own gear, repair my own equipment, and even paint my own parts; I can’t afford to do much upgrading if I want enough left over to buy paint and gas to play. I maintain markers and other equipment for others because I need others to play!
Finally, when the the markets were only going up, people felt secure in their houses, the job market was strong, and credit was easy, many many players went on crazy shopping sprees for equipment! I could not compete, and I was forced to tweak and upgrade what I have. Many noobs were intimidated my players throwing so much paint so quickly compared to their rentals or beginner markers. There are now fewer new(er) players and young adults to become financially able to participate in the sport.
I am at an intermediate level at best; with my modified equipment I could hang with some of those guys, but I was totally outclassed. I missed many rounds fixing my own equipment and equipment of others. Many looked at what I did and were overwhelmed. On a table outdoors, I would strip a marker to replace a seal or clean out paint, etc. Several gave up or invested in new equipment (they could not afford) that they thought would be trouble-free. Never…trouble-free.
Many are selling their equipment — cheap — but it is still an expensive sport just to play. I am a “gun” enthusiast. I shoot, hunt, and restore antique firearms. The skill required to maintain a marker is similar. Not everyone has the patience, money, and time to develop those skills. Having said that, I find surprisingly little in common between paintball games and hunting (or even combat).
It’s a game with it’s own points and purposes and rules and strategy, etc. Paintballs break and you walk off the field (unless field requires too little fps or you are a wretched cheater). You get hit by a 7.62mm round, you are not going to walk anywhere. Combat is not a game as those who have been in combat will agree. While there are many ’skills’ in common between pb and real combat, I think, healthy people can easily tell the difference between the two.
As someone who knows the difference, hitting an opponent with a paintball from even 100 feet away is a real challenge. I can easily bulleye a target (e.g. a 2 liter bottle filled with water) from over 100 yards away. This really denotes the difference between real “guns” and pb markers (not that pb markers are toys by any stretch).
For what it’s worth…
Your post made a lot of the points that I would have if I had continued (yours was longer than the article). Playing at the field is way to expensive for me and I have resorted to playing on private property and getting my co2 from local industrial supply stores. I own 6 working paintball guns and many nonworking ones. Most people I play with do so for free, because I need people to play with. Because of the cost and organization required of me to play I only got out a half dozen times this summer. I think that if prices were lowered the amount of people playing out go up and leagues of honest players would come out of that. The problem with paintball is immature and elitist players.
While I hear a lot of talk about paintball, what I really see is talk about speedball. I’m an avid woodsball and scenarioball player and don’t see the wane in that particular area of sport.
Woodsball was the basis of the sport and is what most of the people I know play. Woodsball is a much better way for new players to get into as the markers are much cheaper and a guy with a simple pump can still play and have fun, even against those who bring out their Cyborgs to play in the woods with.
I definitely agree that speedball on TV is boring and I wonder why they push that aspect of the sport so much when woodsball is the roots of paintball and I think a good part of its future.
Here is a better point. I play and took my kid to play a few weeks ago, the big problem that I found is and involved parents do to is that there are too many irresponsible foul mouthed people on the field. Just as fast as the guy was shooting his PM7 he was dropping the F-bomb. Alot of us do behave civilized but as with most things its alot of bad eggs. Im wondering how many people or parents are turned off by this behavior. Im building my own field to get away from it.
First, paintball is increasingly more expensive which drives out players on smaller budgets. It takes money to compete against people with money.
This is especially true when you take a mechanical semi marker up against an electric marker. I got hit 8 times in 2 seconds by an A5 E-grip and if it had been my first day ever playing I probably would never have come back.
And that brings me to my second point: sportsmanship. I agree with other posters that cheating is a real drag on our sport, especially at the professional level. But it certainly happens at the local level too.
We have a pro shop in town that is a common source of horror stories. The owner treats customers with disdain when they ask questions and when they rent the place for private games he jumps in without chronoing his marker to shoot up the newbs. Unfortunately he’s got the only pro shop/field combination so people who might take up the sport are instead driven away.
Thirdly, I too have watched paintball on TV and after about a half hour even I got bored.
So what needs to be done to save paintball?
Experienced players need to treat new players as an opportunity to grow the sport, not an opportunity for target practice.
The technology race needs to end. Sure, great players with bad gear can beat bad players with great gear, but the rest of us would sure appreciate a level playing field.
We need a better image. If you own a paintball marker I ask you now to NEVER EVER USE IT FOR VANDALISM!!! A hundred good players can’t repair the damage done by one person who commits a crime with a marker.
And if we want our sport on TV, I agree we need a new format. Speedball is just boring to watch, especially if you’re not a player. As much as i abhor reality TV, paintball could benefit from a reality competition show along the lines of what UFC has done with their sport.
I used to own a production company and right now my team and I are planning a paintball documentary outlining our 2009 season. Wish us luck.
i started playing paintball in late 2000. i started with a spyder 2000 for a price tage og $150 and that got me a starter package and a 12oz tank. i have since owned an autococker and tippman 98 custom and currently own a tippman a-5 with egrip, and 2 smart parts ions. i bought the autococker off ebay for $100 new and the 98 for $50 used with a bad air leak. i had the autococker for about 3 years untill the reg went out and sold itto a friend who wanted to get in and like the autococker fr $40, and it cost him $20 to fix. he still owns it today. the 98 i gave to a kid that wanted to play but his parents couldnt afford to get him a marker. the a-5 i got from a pawnshop for $80 barely used and i bought the 2 ions new off ebay. when i played the last 2 years, i as on team and w got 2000 of turni grade paint for $23 at our field. i played everyweekend then. to play from 11am to 6pm for anywhere from $30-60 was a steal. i believe they should lower paint prices to help keep people playing and the players who have morals and are mature sould try to get there local field to dontate there field for a monthy turni for all local players/teams, and have a prize wither in cash, paint, markers/equiptment or what ever they think for $25-40 per player or a set fee for a team. my field did that and we had record turnouts. the rest of the time we had maybe 10-20 players a sunday but we made up for it with the mini turni. my team wsnt alowed to play bc we offered to ref and we idnt allow anything. we were strict and a few players hated us for it but we had a rep for a good, clan and fun field. players who have playe for a bit and know the game should get active on a sunday and offer anyone who wants to get into paintball a “crash” course to explain the game and safety rules to interested players and parents. if you want the game to survive, we will have to get involved more and show the community and the world that we are not all bad apples.
Chris – fouled mouth people on the field. I don’t see how this has to do with paintball, rather than the people that were at your field. Its like your saying only paintballers use bad words. If you go to any local public sports field, you are going to find people that use fowl language (basketball, football…..jeeez even at a golf driving range you will run into those people).
Brujah makes some very good points. Sportsmanship is huge, but its a sport and there is competition. Wiping/cheating in paintball is looked at as a bad thing, but when a basketball player fouls somebody so they wont make a layup it’s not consider cheating. So what i am saying is wiping needs to become part of the sport. Basically, it already is/has been, but i think it can be integrated better, with new rules and consequences.
Finally, paintball as it is now was not made for TV, and I think to take paintball to the next level it needs to be. I love paintball and actually play with the Illinois State paintball team (defending national champs!). And there are 2 big issues that need to change…maybe more these are just two of mine.
1. Being able to see the paint on video. This would mean you could see all the lanes and places people are shooting. Maybe you could use some program that would illuminate the paintballs so when someone watches the video you can spot all the paint flying around and see just how hard it is to move on a paintball field.
2. No ramping. Ramping was put in place because people were cheating during matches, bouncing, fps bumping, ramping, etc…. I think ramping just takes away a skill, being able to run and shoot, or just plain out shoot really fast should be a talent, not something your board does. I do not know how they can regulate players only to use semi, but with all the technologies in the world, there has to be a solution. Example, teammate of mine can hit 27bps on his ego in fully legal semi-auto. His fingers are amazingly fast and he gets his gun checked by the refs literally every game. If the PSP really does take the limit down to ~10 bps this would take away one this guys main abilities.
Finally, woodsball is a great aspect of paintball, but fields are too big and games are to long to be fit for TV. However, without woodsball there would be no paintball, as it is definitely the most attractive type to beginners.
Let me think…paintball has a problem that is very similar to golf. They both cost a lot to play. After you figure in field fees, 15 dollars, air fees, another 10 dollars, and the cost of a case of paintballs, 50 dollars; you are spending 75 dollars to play, everytime. Granted this includes a whole day of playing, which I throughly enjoy, but that does tend to get expensive if you play every weekend that you can.
As far as cheating goes, I don’t like it. I have many a time shot someone to only stand there and watch them wipe it off and keep playing. So what is my reaction to this? Light the person up. I will shoot some about ten times so that they admit that they are definately out. The problem here? Bad refferies and or lazy complacent refferies. Note: I only do this to players that are known to wipe and continue.
You really can’t lower the costs at a paintball field because that is how the owners make their living. I have always tried my best to teach, as much as my limited knowledge is, the game to new players and to help them to be better players. A lot of the more experienced players that I play with our very willing to help new people out. I think that is an attitude that everyone that plays paintball needs to adapt. Your only helping the future of our game out.
My answer to wiping: I don’t get mad of pissed, etc. If I know a player wipes I just give him a few more rounds the next game =] Don’t get mad, get even =] If they wana wipe, fine; give em something that’s gona take more than one quick hand motion to clean off.
look man there are too many *** talkers, and cheaters out there. I think paintball does have to get back to its roots for it to gain popularity. Like now, its if you beat a team all they do is smack talk, it used to be if you beat a team they would give you congrats, and ask you where you practiced so they could get better too, its in the *** hole now, and i gave up on it
If TV focused on arena football and ignored the NFL football would be dying too.
TV focuses on the silly (I don’t care – it’s true) no strategy game of speed ball while ignoring the sport in its essence, scenario-woodsball
When the sport is marketed this poorly, and you throw in bad refs, not enough refs, shooting 350fps, rednecks and their redneck mouths…and then throw on top of all that a serious economic downturn and presto……….
Im from Tijuana Mexico, and I just start playing last year, I do think of paintball as a Sport and a great one to, I dont play speedball, just scenario and woodsball, Its a sport that helps you develop physical & mental abilities, as well as teamwork and honor when played they right way.
Believeme if it is expensive in the US here is almost a luxury for example the cheapest new marker its more than a half week salary, so I really got to look for oportunities and repair the markers I found in flea markets and pawn shops.
I Read a lot about paintball history, and it started based in sportsmanship and honor, the sad part its that not only in the field but in a general way our new society its loosing those and other values.
I apologize for my writing skills but i have more practice talking english.
Paintball, what can I say but it has gotten worse over the years. I started playing in the years when autocockers and automags ruled the roost. The first time I played paintball I rented a brass eagle stingray and I had the time of my life and I got hooked, and I felt competitive against others using their cockers and mags. The main reason I felt competitive with the stingray is because everyone had SEMIAUTOMATIC guns I did not feel like I was out gunned. Now a days you have guns shooting so many balls that no one has fun, the reason being that the first timers are out gunned and the people shooting the high end 100 balls per second machine gun are out of balls and money within about 3 games. I remeber when I made every shot count and the people were honest. The People whom are trying the sport for the first time now a days are being turned off by it, I for the most part am to because the sport for the most part (AIR-BALL) which is the big thing at many fields is boring, and a new guy with a tippman 98 rental will not have much of a chance with a person with an EGO or Angel, although he might if he can get his head up. Paintball needs to be changed to be considered a sport, because what is the point of shooting someone and seeing the ball break on them and seeing them play on because they don’t call themselves out and wipe off the paint, can you distinguish them from shooting at a target at least the goal of hitting the target is the bullseye.
Here is a different angle that everyone seems to have missed. Leadership!!! If anyone has seen the movie “leatherheads” which is about the formation of the NFL, that is where paintball is today. We are not considered a legitimate sport and while there have been efforts to change that there is no united front. each league has made its own half-hearted try at it and the end result is placing more and more distance between players and their fans, and making minimal progress toward making us a real sport in the eyes of the world. If the leagues could unify, present a positive image of the sport (pro players should act as role models, not cheating punks)(and yes there is more and more of that), and finally some sort of eversight to make sure that we can work together to move the sport forward.
Yes the sport needs to reinvent itself for TV. Media is never going away. Media only gets bigger and bigger and it’s our job to jump on the train and ride it to greatness.
I agree, the paintballs needs to appear better on tv. but it’s time to put down timmys and the cyborgs. this is why watching the sport is boring. too much paint is being slung. you cannot move unless you wish to be eliminated.
LOWER THE ROF
then you’ll see real strategy, real moves in real-time.
also, expand the field. in fact, make it two story. like rob drydek’s fantasy factory. take a two story wharehouse and make it the best damn battlefield possible. install digital cameras everywhere and let the editors pick out the best shots in post-production, while maintaining viewer coherence and understanding of the new game rules and objectives.
it’s no longer about rushing a snake on the break, and that’s the last really entertaining moment of the match.
every moment will be entertaining. it won’t be about who is the fastest, but rather which teams work the best together. and we’ll have celebrity teams battle it out for charity.
don’t you get it? it’s time to reinvent. what we have created is really only fun for those playing the game. we need to make it fun for everyone, especially the spectator.
we will always have our outlaw, backwoods games with close personal friends and families. but if we want paintball to make some serious cash, and get airtime while doing so, we need to create something nobody has ever seen before.
Maybe because there parents dont let there kids play paintball like me because they think its a waist of money.