The "Photon Problem" in paintball
I went to a "Family Fun Center" last night to play. In reality, I wasn't expecting anyone to be there. But, it was a shot in the dark that got me away from the computer so it can't all be bad. I got there, and predictably nobody was there. That's ok, I ended up walking the field and talking with the refs.
But just listening to the refs and what they were saying was an eye opener. "Oh, yeah, these two guys were here earlier. They didn't have anything special. Just Piranha's." So I asked what was special. "Any gun over $800. Those guns are better". So I decided to mess with this guy's head and ask what made a gun better. "I don't know. Just BETTER." Eventually, I figured out what he meant by "better". Anything you'd wander into a tournament with was "better" than everything else.
But it really made me think on the way back out. In three years this location has gone from being a rec-ball "for fun" area to a tourney course. Partially because the location owner's son plays tournaments, but mostly because the tournament players are the loudest complainers when it comes to what they want and demanding they get it. And it's more than a little depressing, really. The reason is that I've seen this before. It's the "Photon Problem".
Back in my youth, I played a laser-tag game called "Photon". It was fun, but there was a problem. There was a group of players who played there 2-3 times a week in their mid-week league. They were called "Leaguers" by the rest of us. They were the minority of players, but since they were always there, and were the most vocal about getting the most for their money, it was assumed that they spent more money than the average player, they got "rewards" and "bonuses", and not just free mugs and t-shirts.
After a while, the "leaguers" had run of the location. Since the staff, including the manager, would give them what they wanted at will, they effectively drove away all the "for fun" players. They had the place to themselves, and they liked it that way. But without fresh meat to beat up on, the "leaguers" eventually got bored and stopped playing. This left "Photon" without ANY players, and they closed their doors after a few years.
Thing is, I'm seeing it happen again.
Last year this paintball field created a "BYOP" night, and now they have two nights they do this. And, apparently, two local teams show up and hog the course, so nobody else can play. They just got HPA fills so the tourney guys would have them, not for ease of tank fills. They went from "hyperball" pipes to the old "sup-air" tube filed to a full-blown "x-ball" field because it's what the tournament players wanted.
They've also shifted their focus from the "tourists" who play mini-golf & drive go-karts (who the refs deem "boring to watch" and they hate it when the "newbs" show up) to the local "D-3/D-2" tourney scene. They're even building a second airball field on grass, trying to make it faithful to the "field of the month" tournament scene. And they'll put the "old, crappy airball field" up as well, so that the "tourists" can have a place to play out of the way of the real players.
And I hate to say this, but this is the cycle. The FIELD is driving away money to focus on what they think will bring them more money. They think the vocal minority of tournament style players is the majority, and they're catering to them. Meanwhile, the attitude towards the renter kids I get from the staff is "go play lazer tag n00b".
The ref even told me that the location loses money on these nights, as the main teams that show up to BYOP nights are sponsored by the field. This means they get field fee comped and paint at 50% cost at what the field buys it at. The field drives away the recreational dollar on the busiest night of the week, and they do so happily, to lose money to tournament players who, by the ref's admission, get into fights in front of the families who are in the area.
It wouldn't be so comical to me if I haven't seen this pattern before.
What's not understood by most people is the distribution of money. A tournament player, on average, spends more money than any other player on paintball. When you play every week and drop $50 to do so, then yes you're spending a lot more money than the rec-baller who plays 4 times a summer. However, as a group, tournament PLAYERS do not spend as much as the recreational players.
See, tournament players always want more. And they, as a group, will follow the promises of a better deal. I can point at several teams locally who abandoned their home field to go to another one that promised "paint at $10 cheaper a case". Or they'll chase a sponsorship deal that saves them money on this year's outfit or whatever. Tournament teams are rather notorious for their lack of loyalty. And all power to them, tournament paintball is a business, they follow the money.
Recreational players, however, tend to be loyal to one field. They get the gear they want, because they intend to play with it for a long time, and they just play. And they may not come back every week, but they always come back, year after year. And they bring friends.
What happens when you drive this guy away? In the short term, nothing. In the long term, this one guy can impact 5-10 people. And that's another 5-10 people who could impact another 50-100 people. The ripple is quite staggering when you go 4-5 steps out. Plus when you cater to one style of play, the word gets out fast. "Don't go there, the guys with the screaming e-guns go there. You'll get killed." And they find somewhere else to go. And they tell other people not to go to your place.
Plus add the burnout to the mix. The average "lifespan" of a tournament player is 2 years or so. Emphasis on "average". Meaning most of the guys you see copping an attitude on the field of play won't be there in 2 years. They'll move on after paintball is either "boring" or "bullshit". What does that leave you with? The rec guys, who come 4 times a summer, bringing a few friends with them every time, who never get burnout because they play for FUN.
Catering to one crowd or the other is vocational suicide. It's like opening an ice cream place that only sells chocolate. You'll have your fans, but without variety you're going to lose business. Too many fields will cater to who they think is going to make them the most money, and that's the tourney crowd. On an individual basis, yes. "Tourney Joe" will spend more money than "Rec Joe", hands down. But let's case it, "Rec Joe", "Rec Bob", "Rec James (Bitch)" and the thirty other rec guys collectively spend more money than "Tourney Joe" will. And they'll pay your prices without demanding some kind of discount.
Employees also need to understand this. Instead of looking down on a guy because he doesn't have a $1000 gun, understand he's playing within his means. He's having his fun, let him enjoy the game. Don't scoff at his gear, just do your job and help him play. Because he'll be back if he has a good time, and he'll bring friends.
Long dollar over short profit. It's ultimately the choice of a field owner what they want. But having seen the pattern over and over again, I can tell you which model works. And here's a hint, Photon doesn't exist around here anymore.
But just listening to the refs and what they were saying was an eye opener. "Oh, yeah, these two guys were here earlier. They didn't have anything special. Just Piranha's." So I asked what was special. "Any gun over $800. Those guns are better". So I decided to mess with this guy's head and ask what made a gun better. "I don't know. Just BETTER." Eventually, I figured out what he meant by "better". Anything you'd wander into a tournament with was "better" than everything else.
But it really made me think on the way back out. In three years this location has gone from being a rec-ball "for fun" area to a tourney course. Partially because the location owner's son plays tournaments, but mostly because the tournament players are the loudest complainers when it comes to what they want and demanding they get it. And it's more than a little depressing, really. The reason is that I've seen this before. It's the "Photon Problem".
Back in my youth, I played a laser-tag game called "Photon". It was fun, but there was a problem. There was a group of players who played there 2-3 times a week in their mid-week league. They were called "Leaguers" by the rest of us. They were the minority of players, but since they were always there, and were the most vocal about getting the most for their money, it was assumed that they spent more money than the average player, they got "rewards" and "bonuses", and not just free mugs and t-shirts.
After a while, the "leaguers" had run of the location. Since the staff, including the manager, would give them what they wanted at will, they effectively drove away all the "for fun" players. They had the place to themselves, and they liked it that way. But without fresh meat to beat up on, the "leaguers" eventually got bored and stopped playing. This left "Photon" without ANY players, and they closed their doors after a few years.
Thing is, I'm seeing it happen again.
Last year this paintball field created a "BYOP" night, and now they have two nights they do this. And, apparently, two local teams show up and hog the course, so nobody else can play. They just got HPA fills so the tourney guys would have them, not for ease of tank fills. They went from "hyperball" pipes to the old "sup-air" tube filed to a full-blown "x-ball" field because it's what the tournament players wanted.
They've also shifted their focus from the "tourists" who play mini-golf & drive go-karts (who the refs deem "boring to watch" and they hate it when the "newbs" show up) to the local "D-3/D-2" tourney scene. They're even building a second airball field on grass, trying to make it faithful to the "field of the month" tournament scene. And they'll put the "old, crappy airball field" up as well, so that the "tourists" can have a place to play out of the way of the real players.
And I hate to say this, but this is the cycle. The FIELD is driving away money to focus on what they think will bring them more money. They think the vocal minority of tournament style players is the majority, and they're catering to them. Meanwhile, the attitude towards the renter kids I get from the staff is "go play lazer tag n00b".
The ref even told me that the location loses money on these nights, as the main teams that show up to BYOP nights are sponsored by the field. This means they get field fee comped and paint at 50% cost at what the field buys it at. The field drives away the recreational dollar on the busiest night of the week, and they do so happily, to lose money to tournament players who, by the ref's admission, get into fights in front of the families who are in the area.
It wouldn't be so comical to me if I haven't seen this pattern before.
What's not understood by most people is the distribution of money. A tournament player, on average, spends more money than any other player on paintball. When you play every week and drop $50 to do so, then yes you're spending a lot more money than the rec-baller who plays 4 times a summer. However, as a group, tournament PLAYERS do not spend as much as the recreational players.
See, tournament players always want more. And they, as a group, will follow the promises of a better deal. I can point at several teams locally who abandoned their home field to go to another one that promised "paint at $10 cheaper a case". Or they'll chase a sponsorship deal that saves them money on this year's outfit or whatever. Tournament teams are rather notorious for their lack of loyalty. And all power to them, tournament paintball is a business, they follow the money.
Recreational players, however, tend to be loyal to one field. They get the gear they want, because they intend to play with it for a long time, and they just play. And they may not come back every week, but they always come back, year after year. And they bring friends.
What happens when you drive this guy away? In the short term, nothing. In the long term, this one guy can impact 5-10 people. And that's another 5-10 people who could impact another 50-100 people. The ripple is quite staggering when you go 4-5 steps out. Plus when you cater to one style of play, the word gets out fast. "Don't go there, the guys with the screaming e-guns go there. You'll get killed." And they find somewhere else to go. And they tell other people not to go to your place.
Plus add the burnout to the mix. The average "lifespan" of a tournament player is 2 years or so. Emphasis on "average". Meaning most of the guys you see copping an attitude on the field of play won't be there in 2 years. They'll move on after paintball is either "boring" or "bullshit". What does that leave you with? The rec guys, who come 4 times a summer, bringing a few friends with them every time, who never get burnout because they play for FUN.
Catering to one crowd or the other is vocational suicide. It's like opening an ice cream place that only sells chocolate. You'll have your fans, but without variety you're going to lose business. Too many fields will cater to who they think is going to make them the most money, and that's the tourney crowd. On an individual basis, yes. "Tourney Joe" will spend more money than "Rec Joe", hands down. But let's case it, "Rec Joe", "Rec Bob", "Rec James (Bitch)" and the thirty other rec guys collectively spend more money than "Tourney Joe" will. And they'll pay your prices without demanding some kind of discount.
Employees also need to understand this. Instead of looking down on a guy because he doesn't have a $1000 gun, understand he's playing within his means. He's having his fun, let him enjoy the game. Don't scoff at his gear, just do your job and help him play. Because he'll be back if he has a good time, and he'll bring friends.
Long dollar over short profit. It's ultimately the choice of a field owner what they want. But having seen the pattern over and over again, I can tell you which model works. And here's a hint, Photon doesn't exist around here anymore.
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© 2007 All Rights Reserved.
posted by Rob "Tyger" Rubin at
Monday, July 30, 2007
3 Comments:
Yet another superb write up Tyger, this is so true and like you I've seen it all before. Keep on writing, I love to read your articles.
By
Anonymous, at Thursday, August 02, 2007 3:13:00 PM
so true, but i usually play at my buddies small private feild, so we're not really affected. if he opens to the public any time soon ill have a chat with him about this, try to prevent this problem from spreading to much...
By
Turbolen, at Saturday, August 04, 2007 12:38:00 PM
thankfully my home field is going the other direction. It was a tourney field, but now the son, who no longer plays tourneys, is having them put in a scenario field in the woods they own that they were talking of bulldozing for more speed ball courses. Thankfully they've cashed in on this market, as i play both, scenario more then tourney, and now i can do both for my home field!
By
Anonymous, at Tuesday, October 02, 2007 10:35:00 AM
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