Hello,
I just read the October issue of Paintball 2 Xtremes. I really enjoy that mag and it has some very good articles and the pictures are always topnotch. But there are not alot of 'Mag pics or related articles. Except for this issue and that is what I want to talk about. There was definatly some good stuff in this issue. Tom and AO and the Shatner game. Half an article on the IAO tech conference and stuff like that. There was also some stuff that could have gone better for us. Jay Smackowski and the controversal AGD Billboard. AGD Lions and Pride at the IAO. Things like that.
On the good side of the coin in this issue Tom Kaye is the huge celebrity. His name and/or face is all over the place. I love it. Since Paintball is such a perception driven thing Tom Kaye all over was great. AGD Lions maxing every prelim game was great. The huge picture in the Hot Shots section of a C&C Extreme was great. Major points all around for that. The Market pulse section that has a good spread about AO was the best thing that could happen. I know that I have talked to many 'Mag users and found out that they have no idea that AO exists.
On the down side there are some major points deducted for things in the bad image department. Having the proper name on the Hot Shots page would have been nice. Since the Extemes are such a radical departure from the AGD design norm, I wish there was more to connect AGD with the giant pic on that page. Since you don't see alot of pics of 'Mags in a tourney setting, the indecnet exposure section can be condsidered a negative. If people perceive that 'Mags are not serious guns then they might not consider purchasing a 'Mag.
How I wish that AGD Lions and Pride could have finished 1 and 2 at the IAO. If you have the magazine then you would know what I am talking about. Tippman Effect wins and the whole IAO article is about them. They even get interviewed and a gun segment on the A-5. Imagine if an AGD team won the kind of coverage we would get. The kind of coverage we deserve.
If you get PB2X on a regualar basis you might have been following the Perfect Player articles. I personally think that they are very good. They are close to, if not right on on most accounts. The last one focused on equipment. It mentions the Angel as the be-all-end-all gun as electros go. The E-mag got alot of kudos for its ability to switch between modes and interface with the Warpfeed. The one factor that killed the E-mag was its weight. The author also stated that 'Mags chop. Now I know that this article was written before the Lvl 10 and Extreme E-mags, but it still looks bad. I have put 6 cases of paint through my Lvl 10 Mini with not a single chop. Also the IAO tech article mentions that the C&C Extreme is lighter that the IR3 angel.
Finally, the coup de grace is the Jay Smackowski article at the end of the magazine. There was a long discusion about the AGD billboard at the IAO. Many people voiced their opinions about it and this is not the place to rehash old news, but it seems that it has come back to haunt us. Since 'Mags don't get the kind of coverage that other guns do this tiny little 1/4 page blurb hurts. Paintball is on the verge of becoming mainstream and AGD should be right there with WGP, WDP and the likes of Dye and 32 Degrees. We should not be relegated to the likes of Bruizer and KAPP and Facefull magazine. These images stay with people, that is what they are designed to do. It is images like these that might mean the difference between a loyal AGD customer and another Cocker or Angel owner.
I love AGD and my Minimag. I have a dream of the perfect C&C Extreme that I will purchase. But most of all I want to AGD products featured in magazines. I want to see action photos of 'Mags right along with Angels, Cockers and the rest. I don't want the Angel to be the be-all-end-all paintball gun.
I am tired of explaining my gun to people who don't know AGD. It is all summed up when I went to the field a couple months ago. I was playing some of the best woods ball of my life. I was unstoppable. A little kid walked up to me with his E-99 Spyder and asked what kind of gun was I using. I told him it was an Airgun Designs Minimag. He looked at me kind of funny and said that he never heard of them.
I know that some of you think that I am knit-picking things, well you might be right. But I worked in retail before and I know what it is like once the customer has their mind set on something. BETA was better than VHS but what did we end up with? Macintosh is easier to work with and use but we all have PCs with one form or another of Windows. We all know that AGD makes the toughest, fastest and most reliable gun, but if the customer has something else in mind what do we get? 11 year olds with Fly IR3 Angels or Toxic Impulses. Perception is the driving force behind retail. So think about all the little things that are said or are in print or photos and add all that up.
I am sorry if I am a little long winded about things. That is how strongly I feel about paintball and AGD in particular. If you read through all this I hope you understand what I am saying.
Thank you,
Joel D'Attilio
I just read the October issue of Paintball 2 Xtremes. I really enjoy that mag and it has some very good articles and the pictures are always topnotch. But there are not alot of 'Mag pics or related articles. Except for this issue and that is what I want to talk about. There was definatly some good stuff in this issue. Tom and AO and the Shatner game. Half an article on the IAO tech conference and stuff like that. There was also some stuff that could have gone better for us. Jay Smackowski and the controversal AGD Billboard. AGD Lions and Pride at the IAO. Things like that.
On the good side of the coin in this issue Tom Kaye is the huge celebrity. His name and/or face is all over the place. I love it. Since Paintball is such a perception driven thing Tom Kaye all over was great. AGD Lions maxing every prelim game was great. The huge picture in the Hot Shots section of a C&C Extreme was great. Major points all around for that. The Market pulse section that has a good spread about AO was the best thing that could happen. I know that I have talked to many 'Mag users and found out that they have no idea that AO exists.
On the down side there are some major points deducted for things in the bad image department. Having the proper name on the Hot Shots page would have been nice. Since the Extemes are such a radical departure from the AGD design norm, I wish there was more to connect AGD with the giant pic on that page. Since you don't see alot of pics of 'Mags in a tourney setting, the indecnet exposure section can be condsidered a negative. If people perceive that 'Mags are not serious guns then they might not consider purchasing a 'Mag.
How I wish that AGD Lions and Pride could have finished 1 and 2 at the IAO. If you have the magazine then you would know what I am talking about. Tippman Effect wins and the whole IAO article is about them. They even get interviewed and a gun segment on the A-5. Imagine if an AGD team won the kind of coverage we would get. The kind of coverage we deserve.
If you get PB2X on a regualar basis you might have been following the Perfect Player articles. I personally think that they are very good. They are close to, if not right on on most accounts. The last one focused on equipment. It mentions the Angel as the be-all-end-all gun as electros go. The E-mag got alot of kudos for its ability to switch between modes and interface with the Warpfeed. The one factor that killed the E-mag was its weight. The author also stated that 'Mags chop. Now I know that this article was written before the Lvl 10 and Extreme E-mags, but it still looks bad. I have put 6 cases of paint through my Lvl 10 Mini with not a single chop. Also the IAO tech article mentions that the C&C Extreme is lighter that the IR3 angel.
Finally, the coup de grace is the Jay Smackowski article at the end of the magazine. There was a long discusion about the AGD billboard at the IAO. Many people voiced their opinions about it and this is not the place to rehash old news, but it seems that it has come back to haunt us. Since 'Mags don't get the kind of coverage that other guns do this tiny little 1/4 page blurb hurts. Paintball is on the verge of becoming mainstream and AGD should be right there with WGP, WDP and the likes of Dye and 32 Degrees. We should not be relegated to the likes of Bruizer and KAPP and Facefull magazine. These images stay with people, that is what they are designed to do. It is images like these that might mean the difference between a loyal AGD customer and another Cocker or Angel owner.
I love AGD and my Minimag. I have a dream of the perfect C&C Extreme that I will purchase. But most of all I want to AGD products featured in magazines. I want to see action photos of 'Mags right along with Angels, Cockers and the rest. I don't want the Angel to be the be-all-end-all paintball gun.
I am tired of explaining my gun to people who don't know AGD. It is all summed up when I went to the field a couple months ago. I was playing some of the best woods ball of my life. I was unstoppable. A little kid walked up to me with his E-99 Spyder and asked what kind of gun was I using. I told him it was an Airgun Designs Minimag. He looked at me kind of funny and said that he never heard of them.
I know that some of you think that I am knit-picking things, well you might be right. But I worked in retail before and I know what it is like once the customer has their mind set on something. BETA was better than VHS but what did we end up with? Macintosh is easier to work with and use but we all have PCs with one form or another of Windows. We all know that AGD makes the toughest, fastest and most reliable gun, but if the customer has something else in mind what do we get? 11 year olds with Fly IR3 Angels or Toxic Impulses. Perception is the driving force behind retail. So think about all the little things that are said or are in print or photos and add all that up.
I am sorry if I am a little long winded about things. That is how strongly I feel about paintball and AGD in particular. If you read through all this I hope you understand what I am saying.
Thank you,
Joel D'Attilio
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