wowi opened a can of worms with this one
Originally posted by RED HOT
firstly i'd like to start with a bit of an apology to Robbo and other contributors to PGI, perhaps 'crap' was an unfortuente choice of words for me. perhaps i should of put something along the lines of 'of no interest to me as a UK player' sorry guys. 
PGI is still the best quality mag around, its just that lately there seems to be less and less thats of interest to me.
TJ your right, i do want to see my mates in the mag, why? cos thats what gives small NOV and AM teams a little boost to their egos. it helps keep them going. it seems of late that when PGI covers large events that most of the NOV and AM teams dont even get a mention and you cut straight to the finals (read the coverage of the campaign cup and the Camp masters) surely page space cant be that expensive? what i feel is being reduced is the progressive path from being a walk-on/newbie/NOV team to becoming a star player like yourselves.
Right now in the UK (and the world over) the paintball scene is exploding. more sites starting up, more punters and more new teams starting every month. these guys are the hardcore of our sport, and probably 95% of PGI's customers, these new players are hungry for information and things that are relevant to them. Sure its great to read about international events and PGI do a great job of that, but people like to know what is happening in their own country. Back when PA & PM magazines went to the wall we were in a recession, at the same time we were losing players, sites were closing and 10 man teams became 5 man, there simply was not the customers to buy 3 UK magazines. Surely now or even next year there would be a big enough market for new players? not just UK but europe as well. PGI could then become the top glossy international magazine and you could have a more europe & UK based mag for AM team and rec. would PGI lose customers? doubt it, players would buy both mags.
How about a UK scene page on the p8ntballer website? that wont break the bank will it?
Hey Red,
when the UK supported three paintball magazines, there was a customer base of something like 20 different companies.
Paintball may well be exploding in the States but that degree of growth is not apparent here. It has grown but not explosively.
Now, although we may not be in a recessive climate at the moment, there are really only four or so companies over here that would advertsie.
The likes of Planet, Powerball and WDP.
That ain't enough to keep the front cover in print, believe me.
If there were any significant growth in Paintball, the contraction of companies from 20 to 4 should have started reversing a long time ago, and it hasn't.
I honestly believe that the changes forced upon us those years ago not only ensured our survival but also benefited the vast majority of UK readers.
After all, we now cover events across the world of Paintball, read articles from top international players and review products from every corner of the paintball industry.
The real problem, and I will write a post about it later today, I think is a lack of promoters in this country and cheap thinking.
I will have to consider it very carefully before I write it because I know it's gonna piss some people off but WTF, I ain't gonna keep my gob shut for no longer.
Robbo
