Paintball Predictions for 2010

You never know what a new year will bring, but that doesn't mean it's not fun to guess. In this column I will make five predictions on what will happen in paintball during 2010.  I'm not going to make any predictions based on insider knowledge (those wouldn't be true predictions) - each of these predictions is based on gut feelings and hopeful speculation.  In a year, we'll see how I did.

1. A new $1000+ paintball gun will hit the marker by a new manufacturer.  The existing super high-end gun manufacturers haven't changed much in the past few years and it's about time for someone to step up (especially if Smart Parts is out of the equation).
2. 68 caliber will still be the standard.  I predict that 50 caliber will come and be adopted by some people in some circumstances, but it will be a passing fad that doesn't catch on with the larger community.  I personally hope that it is as good as its backers claim, but my gut feeling is that it will disappoint and not catch on.
3. A major community will ban paintball because of fears that it is used to train terrorists.  This could be a major American city, but my hunch is that it will be an entire country.  Germany failed to ban paintball in 2009, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if another country succeeds in banning it for completely illegitimate reasons.
4. No monthly or semi-monthly print paintball magazines will remain.  The print media industry has been struggling and many magazines are going to online-only versions.  I will be surprised if there's still a print paintball magazine that comes out more than quarterly by 2011.
5. Paintballs will cost about the same.  There have been many discussions about the price of paintballs and whether higher prices are coming to combat fuel costs and to provide store owners with better returns, but my prediction is that a $40 case of paint today will cost about $40 next year.  I wouldn't be surprised, though, if more expensive paint does increase a little bit - such as paying $70 for a case of paint you can currently get for $60.

Well, those are my predictions.  We'll see if any of them come to pass in just 365 short days.  If you want to add any of your own predictions or you disagree with mine, feel free to post in the comments.