New Eclipse Marker

[Enhander]

http://www.mcarterbrown.com/forums/paintball-news/161677-planet-eclipse-csl-picture-specs.html

[Shorts]

Just another Ego, I thought it would be something more interested like an actual new marker.  Should have known, I like PE but they are just in it for the money at this point just like Geo 2.1

[Hudd]

Exactly. They take the same old gun, add some milling and a fancy anno, call it new and charge $1800 for it. I really have no intrest in 99% of new guns coming out. I think that tippmann made the last actually new gun with the Phenom.

[Riddler]

There's a demand for their SL line... Not a very big one, but they'll sell a few hundred to devoted fans. And I'm ok with that - there's admittedly no PL market left in paintball, so guns like this and Ripper Victories fill a niche.

As for citing the Geo2.1 as an example of their greed, I'd disagree. Geo owners have been asking for the POPS ASA and angled reg fitting since they came out on the ego11. Including them on the Geo2 (while keeping the price the same) and changing the available colors to match this year's Ego allows PE to standardize more of their machining work and anodizing, which is a very easy business decision.

Edit: as for the Phenom - it's an Automag variant, just like Tiberius Arms guns. Blowforward is not new.  I guess you could call it a fresh take on an old design, which in some cases is a good thing. In this case, I'd rather have the old design. I don't know what I'd call fresh and new these days. Maybe the upcoming Metadyne, Avrotech and CCI guns, and Dukie's markers. Lever-action KPs. Hey, those are all pumps!

[Hudd]

I realize that the Phenom has an automag style valve but I like the fact that it is electric/mech. I also realize that this has been done before but not in a long time and never in a milsim style marker. So im impressed with the "innovation/adaptation" they have brought to the market.

[Varnel]

As a milsim fan i am too! Phenom blows all the other Tippmann markers out of the water. New it might not be entirely but for the large group of people that use Tippmanns it was a great step. A company putting money into woodsball is a good thing.

[Shorts]

I completely agree with you Riddler, there is very little left in terms of PL lines.  While it fills a nice niche, their marketing tends to over-hype their release.  I love what BL has done with the Victories, the ripper is definitely a unique thing and it is awesome they went that way, I just prefer their advertising as coming out with a different line every couple years, I don't think BL will redo the Ripper Victory anytime soon, whereas PE seems to change it up every year.

As far as the Geo 2.1 ... I completely agree with the business decision to make those changes, I thought it was a great idea.  I honestly did not realize that they kept the price the same, so that is great.  I actually thought they were charging more for the 2.1, so you can take my opinion on that and throw it out the window.  I would have rather seen PE make those changes and still call it the Geo 2, but marketing does have its place and they took advantage of that.

[Riddler]

How much marketing did they really do, though?  One teaser video a week in advance, and all the kiddies on the forums went nuts with speculation.  PE barely had to do any work, and everybody who posts on a paintball forum is gonna know about the CSL.  That's kinda shrewd, IMO.  I may not love the new gun every year thing, but you've gotta admit that PE is one of few companies really in touch with their customer base.  Heck, Ego11's and Geo2.1's are on backorder most places.  Despite the economy, they're selling faster than they can make 'em.

As for the Phenom, I guess I'm gonna have to call personal preference and agree to disagree.  Beyond having exactly zero interest in milsim (thus obviously not caring for the looks), I also don't like the cyclone feed, gripframe, or even the general feel of the thing.  It feels cheap, long and off-balance.  They also seriously need to do away with the external e-mode selector.  It's cool that it's not just another blowback, but not enough to sell me. For my money, I'd rather have an Automag that's half the size, half the cost, made to higher quality standards, and is far comfier to hold and shoot, IMHO.  But hey, that's just me.  

Edit: and yeah, the Geo2.1 is just a Geo2 with new ASA, reg collar, and ano colors.  I actually have one; it's quite nice.  Shoots like a Freestyle...

[Shorts]

I loved the first Geo, with GST kit it was a beast.  I was glad to see that they made the Geo 2, and I will most likely own one at one point or another haha.

As far as marketing you're right they didn't do a whole lot with the CSL, I was more or less referring to the fact that everyone almost expects a "new" version to come out every year.  I don't disagree with it because they definitely do appeal to their fan base, and they love them for that.  I am just saying that IMO I would enjoy it if they kept their SL line and then just the EGO and GEO but that is just how I feel.  1 private label line for a marker is perfect, which is why I enjoy BL so much now.  We all have seen how having a bajillion different PL lines worked out for other companies, a couple is perfect but when you start having 5-10 PL's it takes away from the uniqueness IMO

[Hudd]

I actually dont care for milsim guns or tippmanns for the same reasons Riddler pointed out. I have owned 1 tippmann, a 98. My point is that I see that they brought something to the woods ball world that has never before and something that consumers want. The electro/mech is a really cool feature to have in a woods ball gun and for that I give tippmann props. It seems like the only major advance in speedball gun technology is some new board options. Some one at one of these gun companies needs to get really creative and make something awesome.