“Equipment Counts”. This is a slogan that Smart Parts used a couple of years ago to market their wares. While it's a good slogan, it's also got more than a grain of truth in it. It's also true that it's the player that gets the elimination, not his marker.

As in any other equipment-based sport or game, the equipment you use is the tool you use to achieve your on-field goals. Whether it's laying waste to the opposition mano-a-mano, or goals like blending into the environment or turning night into day, the equipment you use is a personal choice that affects how you play and how well you perform.

I can't speak for the rest of the country, but where I live and play here in the SouthEast, I see a trend developing that a lot of people within the game are missing as a potentially valuable market segment: The Retired/Old Tournament Player, or The Forgotten Player. These players are for the most part ignored by most companies, yet at least down here they're a rapidly growing part of the equation. Whether it's just age, physical problems, or even disgust at some of the issues that plague competitive paintball today, there are quite a few players going to scenario games who used to rip it up on the tournament field.

These guys understand the concepts of unit cohesion, communications, and coordinated movement, just like their counterparts in the Hardcore Woodsball/Mil-Sim segments. Rather than modeling their tactics on military moves, these guys learned the value of working together on the various circuits they used to (or possibly still do) play.

What sets them apart from their brethren is equipment. Rather than BDU's, 'real steel' lookalike markers, and a military-inspired rank structure in their team, The Forgotten Player is wearing his purpose built clothing, a high end marker (called 'space guns' by some) and their old jersey number and nickname from back in the day.

In a lot of cases, The Forgotten Player is looked down upon by the more militant proponents of hardcore/mil-sim woodsball play, but at the same time he's respected for his higher skill level as a paintball player.

One thing I've seen a lot of over the years are hardcore woodsball/mil-sim players who aren't very good paintball players. This can lead to some hurt feelings among the more high profile mil-sim/hardcore woodsball teams towards The Forgotten Player because they're getting eliminated by a guy who has better basic skills as a player. Rather than working on these basic skills to make themselves a harder target, some of the more established, organized teams and players are reverting to stereotypical accusations against The Forgotten Player, such as wiping, playing on and other forms of cheating.

But a new trend is starting to come out is the cross pollination of The Forgotten Player and his Mil-Sim/Hardcore Woodsball player counterpart. The Forgotten Player is sticking by his high end electro-pneumatic, but he's not necessarily going for the bright colors on his marker and clothing while the Military-inspired guys are updating to the high-performance electropneumatics (usually black) but keeping the BDU's, tactical vests and military-style rank structure within their teams.

While the manufacturers are starting to engage the scenario/woodsball market, most notably Smart Parts, Planet Eclipse and BT Designs, the marketing of these products is still heavily biased towards the 'real steel' look. While there is a market for a paintball marker that looks like an AK, I think that a hard look needs to be taken at the current state of affairs within the woodsball/scenario market.

Paintball is at the most a simulation of military action. The engagement ranges for paintball are quite a bit shorter than on a modern battlefield, and as such a lot of designs making it into paintball players hands are realistic, but not practical for playing paintball. BT and Smart Parts have addressed this issue with markers like the SP-1 and TM-7, but for the most part the Forgotten Player isn't going to buy something that looks 'real' as opposed to a simpler, more subdued version of what he shot on the tournament field a few years prior.

It's perfectly understandable that manufacturers are going to give the most exposure to their flagship products. However, some energy and resources need to be pointed the direction of The Forgotten Player, and the Mil-Sim inspired, but less Mil-Sim equipped players that are buying more practical, high performance paintball specific equipment to maximize their performance on the field.