I had an Airsoft Pistol before it was called Airsoft (late 80s), and before I got into paintball. It was a Daisy 1911 "Soft Air" Pistol, sold in a KB Toys at the local mall. The instructions specifically said not to shoot it at other people. It was intended specifically for shooting at targets. However, having done 'tactical' games with my friends extensively (Entertech, Laser Tag, Rubber Band Guns), I waited for my friends to get some but, they never did. I got my Line SI Bushmaster and when I did, I very quickly realized the value of a marking hit, and found the 'soft air' solution lacking and, I never looked back
I have some theories as to why, relative to paintball, commercial airsoft fields are more common in some places and less common in others.
All of these factors combine with social trend differences in various countries. It's worth keeping in mind that there has and will probably always be an interest in 'tactical' games.
Consider that from the 90s and into the early 00s, there was a serious and sustained Industry push to make paintball less 'tactical' here in the U.S. Some industry folks (to include PB journalists) even saw this push as vital to paintball's existence. That major muscle movement (and the players who adopted it) just about actively sought to get the "mil-simmers" out of paintball. "Why do you have all that stuff bolted onto your Tippmann?", "Camo does no good", "sights don't work with paintball", "here get this shiny gun that shoots 18BPS", "lets make our fields and time limits short". Folks who wanted tactical gameplay were ridiculed at the fields (and especially in forums). I distinctly recall doing an airball game at the end of the day with my Woodstalker Ion (and my specops camo), and the sideline speedballers said something along the lines of "look at this milsim guy playing speedball". A lot of folks who didn't sign onto idealogy found this other fledgeling industry of airsoft and latched onto it. Even recently, paintball players didn't really understand what MilSim is (i.e. calling a GoG G1 MilSim because it's black and has picatinny rails). The pushback against this ideology ultimately led to SpecOpsPB and it's promises of "bringing paintball back into the woods". Airsoft largely grew in a grassroots way- games among friends until enough folks in a given area supported the opening of a field (more often, sharing time at a paintball park). Even today, I don't think airsoft is as popular as paintball got by the mid 90s. Folks I know that have reffed for airsoft events hate it for all the cheating (and accusations of cheating). And it's partially why folks here get all bent out of shape on what MagFed paintball should and shouldn't be, and not really understanding the difference between a MagFed event and an actual MilSim event.
In Canada, because airsoft was pretty heavily restricted early on, 'tactical' paintball became the more common format and enough so, that MilSim came to be understood as a distinct game format (some might say LARPing) with specific equipment to suit it (i.e. TacCaps on Tippmann A5s). Eventually, Canada is where MagFed paintball got it's start. All of those MagFed guns that came out before the First Strike Round were largely aimed at and got their footholds in countries like Canada because, they were better suited for MilSim games, which were already being played (however, you have to keep in mind that these guns were not made by established paintball companies like Dye, PE, or even Tippmann, so, the quality wasn't quite where they could be). I'm fairly certain that while speedball made it's way up there, the fields were (and are) less common than fields that were 'tactical' (not speedball).
I have some theories as to why, relative to paintball, commercial airsoft fields are more common in some places and less common in others.
- Law: Some countries (i.e. Canada) allowed Paintball guns, but restricted the sale of Airsoft guns. While other countries had limits on joule impact force that effectively banned .68 paintball (and is part of the reason .50 came back).
- Marking Projectiles: Amongst friends (where you know who's likely to cheat) this isn't much of a deal but, in commercial settings, it's a major advantage to have a marking pellet. Simply put, it reduces the cheating to a point that is more manageable for the hosting staff, particularly where you are approaching and exceeding 100 walk-ons.
- Consumable Costs: Airsoft BBs are ridiculously cheaper than paintballs.
- Cleanup: Airsoft doesn't leave hit marks so, you don't get as dirty (especially when considered against indoor fields).
All of these factors combine with social trend differences in various countries. It's worth keeping in mind that there has and will probably always be an interest in 'tactical' games.
Consider that from the 90s and into the early 00s, there was a serious and sustained Industry push to make paintball less 'tactical' here in the U.S. Some industry folks (to include PB journalists) even saw this push as vital to paintball's existence. That major muscle movement (and the players who adopted it) just about actively sought to get the "mil-simmers" out of paintball. "Why do you have all that stuff bolted onto your Tippmann?", "Camo does no good", "sights don't work with paintball", "here get this shiny gun that shoots 18BPS", "lets make our fields and time limits short". Folks who wanted tactical gameplay were ridiculed at the fields (and especially in forums). I distinctly recall doing an airball game at the end of the day with my Woodstalker Ion (and my specops camo), and the sideline speedballers said something along the lines of "look at this milsim guy playing speedball". A lot of folks who didn't sign onto idealogy found this other fledgeling industry of airsoft and latched onto it. Even recently, paintball players didn't really understand what MilSim is (i.e. calling a GoG G1 MilSim because it's black and has picatinny rails). The pushback against this ideology ultimately led to SpecOpsPB and it's promises of "bringing paintball back into the woods". Airsoft largely grew in a grassroots way- games among friends until enough folks in a given area supported the opening of a field (more often, sharing time at a paintball park). Even today, I don't think airsoft is as popular as paintball got by the mid 90s. Folks I know that have reffed for airsoft events hate it for all the cheating (and accusations of cheating). And it's partially why folks here get all bent out of shape on what MagFed paintball should and shouldn't be, and not really understanding the difference between a MagFed event and an actual MilSim event.
In Canada, because airsoft was pretty heavily restricted early on, 'tactical' paintball became the more common format and enough so, that MilSim came to be understood as a distinct game format (some might say LARPing) with specific equipment to suit it (i.e. TacCaps on Tippmann A5s). Eventually, Canada is where MagFed paintball got it's start. All of those MagFed guns that came out before the First Strike Round were largely aimed at and got their footholds in countries like Canada because, they were better suited for MilSim games, which were already being played (however, you have to keep in mind that these guns were not made by established paintball companies like Dye, PE, or even Tippmann, so, the quality wasn't quite where they could be). I'm fairly certain that while speedball made it's way up there, the fields were (and are) less common than fields that were 'tactical' (not speedball).
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