What Happened to PSP Paintball: The Rise and Fall of a Paintball Empire

What Happened to PSP Paintball: The Rise and Fall of a Paintball Empire. You may not have heard of it, but the PSP held an almost unrivaled position in the paintball world. What happened? How did its fortunes change so rapidly? Read on to find out.

 

The PSP and the rise of paintball – What Happened to PSP Paintball

The PSP (paintball Sports Promotions) was founded in 1992 by a group of paintball enthusiasts who wanted to build a more inclusive, family-friendly paintball experience. At the time, the sport of paintball was more drab than colorful. The PSP decided to bring paintball to the masses. And, that’s just what they did.

Needless to say, the paintball world was oversold at the time. Supplying the exploding popularity of neighboring sports and rapidly growing economies of scale with paintball requires ample capital. Against the odds of investors latching onto the lucrative business of paintball, the PSP went in a completely different direction.

In 1994, the first Playstation was released, launching the first of many successful iterations of the corporate moniker. In 1998, the second iteration was released and combined a CD-ROM drive into the console and created an environment for connecting with peers.

The current model of the Princess Away From Home (Piyo) paintball machine comprises a sleek black and red dialed plastic carton, with The Book of Cheaters inside the machine! The Princess Away From Home paintball machine is technically a clone of the old Nintendo Double Deck—however, there are several differences comparing it to its predecessors.

Even so, we were so impressed by this beauty that we felt obligated to include it here. (The PS1 cartridge in this replica of a Nintendo paintball carton looks real slick and clean, and well kept by G Line Paintball.

 

The rise of the NPPL and other leagues – What Happened to PSP Paintball

The NPPL is the largest paintball league in the world and has hundreds of teams. The league has seen a rise in popularity and participation over the last few years and is continuing to grow. A huge part of this success is the way the league is structured and marketed. Let’s look at the positives and negatives of the bestselling league.

If you’re interested in the details, check out my previous blog posts for links to parts of the official website (or to confirm if they’re still around and operational). In short, the summary is: the players get to choose their own team captains, which gives special benefits when things get rough.

The leader of each team is elected; that person is responsible for not only leading the team but also basically running the league. The NPPL’s rankings system orders the individual teams based on average scores. There’s always a push towards the top.

Teams born around the same time compete against each other. Even though most teams start playing around the same time, there are different years assigned for pro-registration. This helps ensure the top players are signed up early so they can maximize their exposure to the highest competition.

A culture of teamwork and patience is built. Because of the size of the league and the lower turnover, the players have the opportunity to get along with each other and focus on developing as a team. This leads the players to put the long-term first and foremost.

Players have the autonomy to choose their own posts, which is rewarding as they can focus on their skills. A special feature for new members is the President of the NPPL/MLP (National Paintball League/Major League Paintballers). They’ve developed a system to not only handpick the best players but also develop a coaching structure for the best of the best. This is meant to ensure top young talent is picked up quickly.