State of the Industry

[RogueFactor]

By paintball sustaining itself you mean the companies actually make money right? Or are you talking about the sport itself being popular?

Its an open-ended question, meant for the individual to decide what it means to them.

[phantomhitman]

I am actually the Oracle, I ask question so deep and mind boggling that I make heads explode

I agree Rogue...but you are still a witch.


I have to go take a break now, my head hurts from pondering.

[phantomhitman]

long winded, sorry.

I do not consider fields as part of the industry. I think companies that make products are the industry. The players are the consumer obviously, so that leaves the field as the place of business I guess. One thing that fields rarely do is push away money from either side (consumer/industry). But the field makes money from each (buys guns paint cheaper and sell it as well as makes moeny from paying customers).

example
Kid buys an ion from the store/field shop. Field owner makes money and makes consumer happy. Kid pisses off another customer by shooting them too much and complains. Owner shrugs, warns the kid. Owner is making money from the gun, the paint the kid is shooting, the fees the kid paid for. However, he is going to lose money from other customers if this continues. Owner feels the heat but he explains that is how the game is played nowadays. He plays nice to everyone regardless of his true feelings, because that kid is making him a ton of money while the other rec players also bring in money but over a longer amount of time. Who is wrong in this scenario? The kid for being an idiot, owner for not wanting to lose money, or the other players for compalining, or just the current state of paintball for the image it produces?

The industry is looking for trends to make money on (as well as sell their current quality products), the field is looking for any way to make money, the true players are out to have fun, and the "image/tools" ballers are just there to be cool and generally act like idiots. In the above situation the owner could easily shut everyone up, allow only semi mode, make rules really strict (cannot shoot a player more than 5 times) without consequences, and have refs everywhere. He would then lose money from the ton of paint he sells to the shooters abd the fees lost if the players do not like the strict rules and decide to play elsewhere, so he wouldnt risk it. The kid will get away with the most he can because he doesnt know better.

It still all comes down to the morals vs money wether its a field owner wanting to make money from everyone, or industry willing to sell its soul for cash. In the end the player still controls everything, because no company can survive if customers do not support them.

[RogueFactor]

Many new players are being chased right out of the sport by the conditions of play at almost every local field.

So the conditions that are allowed by the industry(field operators) at the local fields is actually affecting the 'sport' of paintball and its growth?

Interesting....so the 'industry' and the 'sport' are dependent upon each other?

[punkncat]

So the conditions that are allowed by the industry(field operators) at the local fields is actually affecting the 'sport' of paintball and its growth?

How could it not? The two are linked together.

Many new people will be introduced to paintball at a local field. Their enjoyment of their first experiance will dictate how much more they will potentially spend on the sport through equipment. More people getting turned off by the first experiance not only cost future sales to that individual, but word of mouth to other potential players.


On a side note though. There are outside factors that really may have played a role in the loss in paintball revenue this year. Consider all the hurricanes, the loss of New Orleans and the damage throughout the entire gulf region. That has had a substantial economic impact on the entire nation.

When gas was costing around $4 a gallon I wasn't playing or spending near as much on the sport.....