The lost decade of Paintball

[RogueFactor]

When Smart Parts did what they did, I predicted to some close friends that we would have a lost decade of paintball. The reason is simple, to outlive the Smart Parts electro patent. Those with a passion for the sport would walk away rather than having to deal with SP.

There are a number of other factors that contributed, but none, IMO, more than Smart Parts.

It is interesting to see, that after nearly a decade from the height of paintball in this century, that this prediction is coming to fruition. It wont be long before their electro patent loses its protection.

[kyleyoung21]

I got out of paintball right before all this happened I think. 2004/2005ish. Would AGD still be around producing new products if SP didn't do what they did?

[going_home]

Now its GI Sportz, which is Smart Parts 2.0.....

[dahoeb]

I got out of paintball right before all this happened I think. 2004/2005ish. Would AGD still be around producing new products if SP didn't do what they did?

Who knows, but probably not. The winds were blowing in a different direction....we're pretty lucky to have AGD around at all, even if it is in a smaller form.

The mag survived the culling that the electro markers put on the gun market in the early/mid 2000's. Personally, I'm seeing more mags now than I did in since 2005. The last scenario I went to, there was an entire scenario team of 8-10 people who had nothing but new ULE mags, some looked like some nice OG collection mags too. All in all, I saw probably 15-20 mags out of 200'ish people. Not a bad showing at all.

[bowcycle]

When all paintball innovation became slightly faster boards and slightly lighter markers, I stopped following. I used to watch for the new innovations every year. I haven't looked at paintball news in at least 8 years now apart from mags and phantoms and only those because I shoot them.

But I do agree with dahoeb about the mag scene. I guess a lot more people are getting sick of over-priced hype and remembering the solid markers of yester-year because I've seen way more mags on the fields in the last 3 years than I did in maybe the 10 years before that.

[cougar20th]

Some people did walk away. But I feel the majority stayed. Some smaller companies folded but the majority of thoses were not the ones with cutting edge technology. They were the ones that had been running on the same design for awhile. Icd, Aka, Agd. The lawsuits did slow new companies for a short time. But even those are sill popping up.

The last decade was much more about paintball stepping back, culling out the unneeded. Figuring out that the arms race that was going on wasn't in anyone's benefit.

I feel he sport is doing better its aligned itself to be more about the average player then the tournament players. Scenarios seem to get more coverage then tournaments now. Which is good because the average player can play.

So the paintball industry wasn't lost just misguided for awhile. Still has a ways to go.

Unfortunately some who are now coming back are out of touch with all the good that has come and gone over the last 10 or so years

[Dayspring]

Electro patent expired last year, FYI.

http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?t=5112033

[grindian]

Personally, I felt a combination of the game transitioning away from woodsball to speedball and electronic markers and now a shift. I have to say call of duty, airsoft, and the milsim movement in paintball have largely contributed to me and my friends getting back into paintball..at least in terms of rate of fire, the automag, compared to milsim markers, is extremely formidable. That in combination with ebbs and flows of life...

[going_home]

Electro patent expired last year, FYI.

http://www.pbnation.com/showthread.php?t=5112033

That might be true but GI has sued APX, and Valken twice, all in the last year.

They are Smart Parts 2.0.....

[dahoeb]

The last decade was much more about paintball stepping back, culling out the unneeded. Figuring out that the arms race that was going on wasn't in anyone's benefit.

I feel he sport is doing better its aligned itself to be more about the average player then the tournament players. Scenarios seem to get more coverage then tournaments now. Which is good because the average player can play.

So the paintball industry wasn't lost just misguided for awhile. Still has a ways to go.

Well said, Cougar.

[cockerpunk]

Some people did walk away. But I feel the majority stayed. Some smaller companies folded but the majority of thoses were not the ones with cutting edge technology. They were the ones that had been running on the same design for awhile. Icd, Aka, Agd. The lawsuits did slow new companies for a short time. But even those are sill popping up.

The last decade was much more about paintball stepping back, culling out the unneeded. Figuring out that the arms race that was going on wasn't in anyone's benefit.

I feel he sport is doing better its aligned itself to be more about the average player then the tournament players. Scenarios seem to get more coverage then tournaments now. Which is good because the average player can play.

So the paintball industry wasn't lost just misguided for awhile. Still has a ways to go.

Unfortunately some who are now coming back are out of touch with all the good that has come and gone over the last 10 or so years

yup

SPs patent wars didn't kill paintball.

video games killed paintball.

[Walking Stick]

^ Damn you Greg Hastings!

I'm getting back into the sport because life has slowed down enough to allow me to. I was never an electro-marker fan as I liked the clunkiness and feel of mechanical markers. The last electros that even caught my attention were the FEP Quest and cam-fed Evil Omen.

I enjoy going out and having a good time paintballing though my happy place is somewhere between the norms. I like the fields and speed of tournament-style play but hate how people simply shoot ropes using up a case of paint a game. That's not fun or skillful. I like woodsball and the variety of scenarios but hate the milsim side of it. I did my time in actual Service and have plenty of real steel so I don't care about playing pretend. If I want to sit and wait, like a paintball sniper, I'd rather grab a book instead.

[Laku]

I like the fields and speed of tournament-style play but hate how people simply shoot ropes using up a case of paint a game. That's not fun or skillful.

You’d probably like M500. Cuts the sitting and laning part pretty short.

[cougar20th]

yup

SPs patent wars didn't kill paintball.

video games killed paintball.

Never thought of the video games. Sounds right.

Also I think airsoft has a good deal to do with the decline as well. My nephews and all his friends want nothing to do with paintball but will play airsoft everyday due to the realistic guns.

[Konigballer]

Also I think airsoft has a good deal to do with the decline as well. My nephews and all his friends want nothing to do with paintball but will play airsoft everyday due to the realistic guns.

Airsoft's skyrocketing popularity is also due to video games, but in a positive way. The younger generation in their teens and younger are the "Call of Duty" generation. They've only known FPS, First Person Shooter, video games with realistic weapons and gear their entire lives. They have been using AK's, AR's, and all manner of weapons in virtual combat for YEARS. When they want to play something like that in real life, they naturally gravitate to airsoft since it offers the best simulation of that world. They can buy literal copies of the guns they've been playing with online for years. This is actually helping the gun industry too. These same kids can actually buy many real civilian versions of some of these military weapons, after they turn 21, if they have the money.

When I first played paintball in '95, those type of games weren't developed yet for consoles. I liked paintball because it reminded me of watching GI Joe cartoons and playing 'war' in my neighborhood, not because I wanted to replicate actually battling drug lords or World War III with an M4 Carbine. If I had got into the game much later, I might have moved towards airsoft myself. As it is, I'm still more comfortable in my 90's era image of paintball, which is why I like the classic Mags so much.

[going_home]

IMHO it's a two part issue.

Number one was the economic downturn 2007-ish caused the rise of the electronic baby sitter/video games because expendable income became non existant, everyone pretty much kept their internet and already had computers / game consoles.

Number two, fields became myopic in that their only focus was speedball and paintball became a newby unfriendly affair.

Change paintballers attitudes, make a point to help a kid every time you play.

If we all do this, that's how we can grow the sport.

[cockerpunk]

Never thought of the video games. Sounds right.

Also I think airsoft has a good deal to do with the decline as well. My nephews and all his friends want nothing to do with paintball but will play airsoft everyday due to the realistic guns.

airsoft is also bananas cheap compared to paintball. you can shoot 30k rounds in a day, for 15 bucks.

[cougar20th]

airsoft is also bananas cheap compared to paintball. you can shoot 30k rounds in a day, for 15 bucks.

Interesting. I never priced it.

[dahoeb]

airsoft is also bananas cheap compared to paintball. you can shoot 30k rounds in a day, for 15 bucks.

That's exactly why I took up airsoft. I prefer paintball, but for the price, it's hard to beat airsoft.