Let's get back to the topic.
The paintball world is on the brink of change now. Richmond Italia (the inventor of X-ball and former CEO of Procaps) has teamed up with Adam Gardner and Bill Gardner (marker designers at Smart Parts) to bring paintball to a new era, by embracing the .50 caliber. With the new bore size, they believe that everything from material costs to packaging costs to freight costs, will be made cheaper, therefore making paintball more affordable. They hope to revolutionize the sport and bring in "Paintball 2.0".
Richmond's new company, G.I. MilSim, has already collaborated with Smart Parts to produce some promising new equipment. Take a look below.
The question now is, will they succeed in reviving the sport? Or will they deteriorate the situation even more. I believe their idea is feasible.
Paintball started from the humble Nelspot pump pistol, then came the blow-back semi-automatic, after that the electronic, the .50 caliber could be the next big thing. People shouldn't fear new technology, they should embrace it.
There are a lot of debating in paintball forums over this matter. Most people who are against the idea are mostly afraid of their expensive .68 gear becoming obsolete. I say this fear is illogical. It's like saying once you bought a car you'll want to drive the same car for the rest of your life, even if a better, more advanced car came into the market. Or saying you want to keep using the same mobile phone for the rest of your life because you've already spent money to buy it.
These narrow-minded people want to see the paintball grow into something big, yet they don't welcome a change that might benefit the sport.
A few big names in paintball are already following the revolution and coming out with .68 to .50 conversion kits. Take Planet Eclipse for example, they are already making their Ego line of markers to be compatible with the new bore size. Dye is also not far behind and are working on converting their Rotor to fit the .50.
Not only are paintball companies supporting the idea, seasoned pro players like Chris Lasoya is also optimistic about the change. Watch what he has to say in the video below.
2 comments:
Moot argument.
It's not the same as saying that a person would want to drive the same car for the rest of their life, even if a more advanced one came out. Wrong analogy.
It's more akin to saying that if only diesel was offered instead of petrol, that's what is closer to this ".50 cal revolution". A lot of markers will be come obsolete unless manufacturers produce a .50 mod kit for them. Think about Vikings and Pump markers, older markers that people still use but will no longer be able to use once we go .50 cal.
You're right, diesel and petrol seems like a better analogy.
I don't think manufacturers will stop making .68 right away, it will take some time. But eventually whichever is better will dominate, and most people will be using them.
It's like VHS and CDs. All your old movies on VHS are useless without a VHS player. Sooner or later, even DVDs will be replaced by Blu-Ray.
It's just the way things evolve.
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