Why do people think paintball is dead or dying?

[Engus]

your right chafnerjr, I think the planned price is like $6 for 8 FS rounds. And honestly I dont really like the style of play they promote. Its frustrating and boring when everyone is sitting around the field just waiting for someone to come into their line of sight.


My local field has players with the newest ego's and tippmanns and phantoms. But theres a much better attitide, and its enforced by the owner. heres a few of the rules (which everyone hears at the beginning of every day of play):

-Exercise muzzle discipline. Keep your safety on and your finger off the trigger.
-Your gun must be set under 300 FPS. Anyone intentionally playing with a 'hot'
gun is subject to firing squad and ejection from the field.
-Do not wipe or play on. Anyone caught wiping or playing on is subject to
firing squad.
-No ramping. Anyone caught ramping is subject to firing squad.
-No blind-firing. Blind firing results in ejection from the game.
-Do not overshoot or bonus-ball. Learn trigger control.
-The dead do not speak to the living: dead men tell no tales. Imparting
supernatural knowledge is grounds for firing squad.
-Do not shoot the referee.
-Do not argue with the referee.
-No fighting. Fighting results in ejection from the field.
-Keep in mind that there may be children present. Act accordingly.

[Beemer]

your right chafnerjr, I think the planned price is like $6 for 8 FS rounds. And honestly I dont really like the style of play they promote. Its frustrating and boring when everyone is sitting around the field just waiting for someone to come into their line of sight.


My local field has players with the newest ego's and tippmanns and phantoms. But theres a much better attitide, and its enforced by the owner. heres a few of the rules (which everyone hears at the beginning of every day of play):

-Exercise muzzle discipline. Keep your safety on and your finger off the trigger.
-Your gun must be set under 300 FPS. Anyone intentionally playing with a 'hot'
gun is subject to firing squad and ejection from the field.
-Do not wipe or play on. Anyone caught wiping or playing on is subject to
firing squad.
-No ramping. Anyone caught ramping is subject to firing squad.
-No blind-firing. Blind firing results in ejection from the game.
-Do not overshoot or bonus-ball. Learn trigger control.
-The dead do not speak to the living: dead men tell no tales. Imparting
supernatural knowledge is grounds for firing squad.
-Do not shoot the referee.
-Do not argue with the referee.
-No fighting. Fighting results in ejection from the field.
-Keep in mind that there may be children present. Act accordingly.

Sounds good so far and MY S.O.P. This attitude is what should be Nation wide and enforced at all fields
Please do post up the rest of them and where this field is.

Thing is they post up the rules but how many Fields enforce them??

[Engus]

Sounds good so far and MY S.O.P. This attitude is what should be Nation wide and enforced at all fields
Please do post up the rest of them and where this field is.

Thing is they post up the rules but how many Fields enforce them??

heres the full rules list for Valley Paintball in Sabin, MN. between the refs, and the group of good guys on the feild (local teams/regulars/staff/myself) they get enforced pretty well.

VALLEY PAINTBALL RULES
-Goggles must be worn at all times when on the playing field.
-DO NOT REMOVE YOUR GOGGS ON THE PLAYING FIELD.
-Barrel blocking devices must be used at all times in the staging area.
-No firing or dry firing in the staging area.
-Exercise muzzle discipline. Keep your safety on and your finger off the trigger.
-Your gun must be set under 300 FPS. Anyone intentionally playing with a 'hot'
gun is subject to firing squad and ejection from the field.
-Do not wipe or play on. Anyone caught wiping or playing on is subject to
firing squad.
-No ramping. Anyone caught ramping is subject to firing squad.
-No blind-firing. Blind firing results in ejection from the game.
-Do not overshoot or bonus-ball. Learn trigger control.
-The dead do not speak to the living: dead men tell no tales. Imparting
supernatural knowledge is grounds for firing squad.
-Do not shoot the referee.
-Do not argue with the referee.
-No fighting. Fighting results in ejection from the field.
-Keep in mind that there may be children present. Act accordingly.
-Please keep your mess orderly. Box/Bag your trash. I'm happy to dispose of
your trash, not to pick it up off the ground.
-No littering on the playing field.
-STAY OUT OF THE STAGING TRAILER

You must sign a waiver to remain on the premises

[VFX_Fenix]

In this area - Paintball is "dead".

There isn't a field within reasonable driving distance. The local stores carry paintball gear as a vestige though people around here still buy paint locally though just to play outlaw games on BLM land. Renegade/Outlaw ball is prevalent, however rules and safety suffer horrendously. Finding a Chrono is nearly impossible, goggle safety is often overlooked, some people play like they did in the semi good-old-days and just run around with approved goggles, no mask, no ears, just gogs. Play is agressive and the groups like to play "John Wayne" rules (wounding shots/area specific damage) so you need to put a lot of paint on a player to "put 'em down". Which leads to bickering because of overshooting, blah blah blah blah blah.

The last time I played with those guys I witnessed a fist fight break out and promptly gathered my gear and went home in the midst of the game. I had just finished changing into my street cloths and was driving away when a black and white came screaming down the street I was about to turn onto and zoomed towards the field I'd just left. Needless to say, that was enough for me and I never went back.

I talk to the owners of the local shops that carry gear above and beyond the "Brass Eagle/JT" franchise and they still get people coming in to buy stuff. So I guess those renegade groups are still kicking around.

So Organized paintball is dead - renegade is alive, but I wouldn't play with those guys if I were being paid.

EDIT - Airsoft on the other hand seems to be doing okay. There's a local governing body which is associated with an Airsoft league which has its own rules. However I will say that Airsoft is much easier to self regulate, safety wise, since the guns used in airsoft are inherently limited to how fast they can shoot and they can't be adjusted to shoot faster on the fly (requires upgrades to barrels and springs specifically). This is different than Paintball where the guns do have a maximum velocity they can achieve, but that velocity is higher than what is accepted to be "legal and safe" in just about every instance. Also the groups under this governing body only play on fields with the land owners' permission, unlike the renegade paintballers.

Overall - Higher level of professionalism and responsibility in the Airsoft crowd. Much like the days when I first started playing paintball.

[Reiner]

Paintbal is not dead and paintball will not die. Paintball has however become less popular in the past few years. There was a 19% decline of products sold ($ value at the wholesale level) in 2007 and a 20% decline in 2008 for instance. You might notice theat the 19% decline in 2007 took place before the current economic collapse, as a matter of fact, it was during a very strong US economy. There was work for anyone that wanted work.

Also during this time, paintball products and paintballs were cheaper than any other time during othe sports history. So we had people with lots of money and cheap paintball, yet the sport was getting less popular. Anyone that thinks popularity of the sport has decreased due to prices being too high, should give their heads a shake.

I'm not saying paintball is not an expensive sport. It is, but it always has been. It's gotten cheaper though, especially the paintballs needed to play the game. And therein lies the problem. The inexpensive paintballs, found at most North American fields, has led to a style of paintball that many do not enjoy, especially new players. As the established players that tolerate the current high paintball usage style of play leave the game (everyone leaves eventually) and there are less new players to replace them, we end up with a negative growth rate. Therefore I conclude, it is not the high cost of playing paintball that is creating a decline in numbers, but on the contrary, the low cost of paintalls are not only contributing to the decline, but are the main reason for it.

[hulk]

yah but you can find it simmiler to going skiing for the day

Cheap quality paint - $40
All day air - $5
Field fee - $10

That is $55 to play. I don't shoot cheap quality paint, because I'd like to hit what I aim at. I can also make a case of paint last two days, because I dont' subscribe to "Accuracy by Volume."

Still, $55.00 to play one day is almost the price of admission at Disneyland. It isn't cheap. This doesn't include food, gas, travel time, or equipment cost to play. Paintball is not cheap to play.

[chafnerjr]

Ain't that the truth!

[dreadpirate]

I've never seen any of these threads you mention. Nor have I noticed much drop in interest, though I myself never seem to make it out to play these days. If I had to come up with my own thoughts as to why paintball may be decreasing in popularity:

1) The whole world is in a giant recession, and paintball just is not a necessity, especially for those who might otherwise become new players. Those with jobs are working longer hours to keep those jobs, and don't have Saturdays off anymore.

2) Paintball technology is at, or near it's peak. In the 90s and early 00s, there was a new, game-changing gun design out for every manufacturer almost every year, so they got sales from both experienced players keeping up with the trends, and new players. Now, most new guns are just tweaks on previous designs, not leaving much incentive for experienced players to replace their familiar marker with something new. Thus, demand for new markers has dropped, and the demand that exists is from the new crowd (middle aged players looking for cheap, tough guns like the Tippmann 98, so they can go play with their kids, and very young players looking for flashy electros), which has little concept of what makes a good or bad paint marker. I personally blame this factor for the automag's drop in popularity. Everyone who knows it's the best design out there already has one. Pretty soon, the manufacturers are going start following a rule out of the automakers' book: planned obsolesence. The electronic guns will drop from level II or III electronics standards, to level I, and then they'll be breaking every two or three years, requiring a complete board replacement, which will be discontinued, forcing the owner to buy a brand new gun.

3) Paintball does not cater to the lazy. Why drag yourself out of bed at 5am on a weekend to get dressed, drive an hour and a couple gallons of gas, to the field, pay $60 to have a blast, then drive back, when a pickup game of street hockey with the kids down the block, or a few games of COD4 on the PC are so much cheaper and easier? The base I go to drill at has arrived at the right answer here: the base paintball field is open from noon until sunset. The players can actually stay up late Friday, sleep in Saturday, and still make it to a game with their friends.

4) Paintball is seen as a kid's game. Just last month I mentioned to one of my bosses that I was heading out to play paintball that weekend, and his response was, "Aren't you a bit old for that stuff?" I'm only 28! My dad still plays, even after a fractured pelvis during a bicycle race, and he's 58!

I started playing in 96/97, and I recall back then, paintball was somewhat of a fringe sport, but gaining popularity. The economy was booming, and at 16, I had my own minimum wage typesetter job to pay for my spyder basic, a mask, tank, and the paint I shot with it.

Now, with jobs being lost all over, I see more and more of those minimum wage jobs being held by adults, meaning the only teens on the field are the very lucky few who manage to get a job, or those who's parents are well off enough to pay for them.

But, honestly, I haven't personally seen a drop in numbers at most fields I play at, with the exception of last year's Global Conquest, which was more due to everyone moving out of Michigan than anything else. Michigan has lost around 15% of it's population since the economy turned south. (Thanks alot, Gov. Granholm)

[MKing]

I played two weeks ago at a brand new field that opened this spring.
There was one group of 15 people who were all first time players. We all had to try help them get their brand new tippmanns to shoot less than 300 fps (why do tippmanns shoot 350 out of the box?).
The thing about this group of new players that suprised me was that they were all Hispanic. When I saw them it obviously exposed a little racial stereotype that I didn't even realize that I had. Even though I live in Chicago, I am used to seeing 90% white people on the paintball field.
I have no info other than my own experience but it seems like paintball plays to the Caucasian crowd pretty heavily. However, the population make up is changing. For the game to be successful maybe companies and fields should start catering to the Hispanic population more.
Just a thought.

[dreadpirate]

I played two weeks ago at a brand new field that opened this spring.
There was one group of 15 people who were all first time players. We all had to try help them get their brand new tippmanns to shoot less than 300 fps (why do tippmanns shoot 350 out of the box?).
The thing about this group of new players that suprised me was that they were all Hispanic. When I saw them it obviously exposed a little racial stereotype that I didn't even realize that I had. Even though I live in Chicago, I am used to seeing 90% white people on the paintball field.
I have no info other than my own experience but it seems like paintball plays to the Caucasian crowd pretty heavily. However, the population make up is changing. For the game to be successful maybe companies and fields should start catering to the Hispanic population more.
Just a thought.

As an aside, I suspect the high velocity tippmanns has something to do with the fact that I've seen police using apparently unmodified tippmann 98s for crowd control situations. Police paint guns for crowd control are usually shooting at 350+ fps. Perhaps tippmann is using the same spring to keep from having to charge a premium for a 'special police' package.