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USA/CANADA
Phone:
(+1) 323 205 4335
UK/EUROPE
Phone:
(+44) 2075 048 606
AUSTRALIA/ASIA
Phone:
(+61) 1300 666 559
info@battlefieldsports.com
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Here is a list of our Frequently Asked Questions. If
we haven't covered a question here, please
email us.
We have categorized
your questions into Business FAQ and
Equipment FAQ.
BUSINESS FAQ
How much money can my field make?
This depends on a range of factors such as location, local culture, marketing,
staff, type and quantity of gaming guns. Obviously larger cash
flows are possible with a bigger arsenal, especially if combined with high
traffic venues.
Is Battlefield Live going to be as big as Paintball?
We think it will be... paintball has been operational now for more than
20 years, Battlefield Live is only 5 years old (time since commercial grade
equipment has been available) so it is a challenge to extrapolate that far
forward. What can be said is players who have experienced Battlefield Live just
rave about it, especially the teen and pre-teen markets. This strong response
from the players to date strongly suggests considerable and substantial future
growth. Our view is the development will be different than paintball, our
emphasis on fun and being inclusive means players who are attracted to Battlefield Live are typically a different profile to paintball. Expect to see Battlefield Live become very common at multi-activity centres and resorts.
Why do teenagers like this game so much?
Think video games in real life and you'll have the answer.....
Other manufacturers are offering
individual scoring options. Why does Battlefield
Sports not do this?
This is not a good idea. Let us explain, we have
spent 5 years plus running our own successful
commercial battlefields and we discovered that
individual scoring was very bad for repeat business.
Here are the key markets that drive your business:
Lets look at each of these customers in turn.
A. BOYS BIRTHDAY PARTY
This is such an important group, there is a boy (or
girl)
having a birthday every day of the year. So this means
year round business. The Birthday boy is very excited and
wants to be a hero on his birthday. Our job as
entertainers is to make sure this happens. When the
boy plays he and his friends imagine how great they
have done even though they have probably missed (shooting) everything. They are only kids and they
only play once or twice per year. Boys naturally
fantasize about how well they have done and will
tell fantastic stories when they come off the field.
We as staff need to give them lots of positive
feedback. The last thing you want is an individual
score telling the birthday boy how bad he is. This
is an important message to the parents who are very
worried that their young boy Johnny will be
embarrassed on his birthday. The kids who play with Battlefield Sports equipment ALWAYS
go home excited and positive. All of them.
Individual scoring cannot guarantee this. If you want to run a successful business make
sure you buy a system that doesn't force individual
scoring. It just doesn't work. How are we so
certain? Answer: Hundreds of thousands of players
over five years know what they want.
Further, we run large numbers at once for Birthday
parties, often 6-8 parties in the same battle at the
same time. This means around 80 players at once in
the same game. For a scoring system outdoor you need
a data download and upload before and after each
game, this takes at least 30 seconds per player so
that will take 40 minutes to complete. Way too long
and therefore impractical.
B. SPORTS TEAMS
Sports team are all about team and team objectives.
They have no interest in individual scores. The come
to Battlefield Live for a team bonding experience.
C. CORPORATE FUNCTIONS
Corporate groups are again team focused. It's not
about making individual heroes in a corporate
culture, it is about working together with everyone
contributing to achieving the group objective.
D. ADVANCED PLAYERS
Having run more advanced missions in a commercial environment, than anyone else
on the planet, we at Battlefield Sports can tell you with 100%
certainty that individual scoring just doesn't work
for these guys and gals. Advanced missions are
multi-phase and each player has a role and that role
does not mean shooting all the time. Personally
in large games when I play and
spend my time organising my troops and gathering
intelligence reports, this role often is the
decisive difference between the teams, but an
individual score for me would be a flat zero. So the
individual scoring encourages everyone to play for
themselves and always want the shooting parts,
rather than other important jobs like recon, guard
duties, leadership etc. In many advanced special
forces missions, the goal is the avoid contact with
the enemy. In games like this it is a failure if a
fire fight starts.
Will this work in my area?
The most important element is the drawing
population. We need to know how many people are
within 30 minutes drive time of your proposed
facility. Alternatively if the existing facility is
already high traffic, then Battlefield Live will
definitely work well.
What's the minimum investment?
Depends on a range of factors such as existing land
and facilities that can be utilised and how large an
operation that is planned. For our units it's around
25k. So you need to be well funded. Our guns are not
cheap. We build them to last. They are tough, heavy
and durable. Sure, you can buy plastic guns cheaper,
just don't expect them to last and last like ours.
What support does Battlefield Sports offer us if we become a
customer?
Because we have operated our own commercial
battlefields for the last 5 years covering indoors,
woods, urban and mobile we have a wealth of
experience for operators to draw upon. We also offer
a comprehensive business guide, this covers not just
how to use the gaming guns, but details how a Battlefield Live business should operate. Further services
are available and included in your package...
Success Conferences, Training Visits, Business Plan
Development, Management & Operations Manual,
Marketing and PR Materials consultancy, Revenue
Projections, Payroll & Schedule advice, Financial
Spreadsheets, Demographic Reports, Facility Layout
assistance, Arcade Assistance, Management &
Operational Systems, Guest/Membership Registration
advice, Tech support, business support, marketing
materials, web site development, web site traffic
and lots more are included.
I am running a paintball field at the moment, why
should I add this?
The most important thing to keep in mind is Battlefield Live does not replace or compete with paintball.
Most people that are attracted to Battlefield Live are
not existing paintball players. Battlefield Live is
great at winning the mixed groups where there is
considerable diversity of ages, sexes and fitness
levels.
Younger
players can be attracted to Battlefield Live, in
time these people love live combat games so much, it
is inevitable that some want to give paintball a go
as well.
Our observation of groups with a youth culture
(typical for fast food and retail outlets) actually
want to try a diverse range of activities. This
means this month they try go karts, next month they
might try rock climbing and then Battlefield Live as
well as paintball. To increase the utilization rate
of a facility the paintball field wants to win the
same group for paintball and Battlefield Live.
The different market appeal of Battlefield Live
therefore leads to a high utilization of existing
paintball field facilities.
How long will the guns last?
Being aluminium and stainless steel, they don't
rust. The gun case therefore has no finite life
span. We have seen guns in use for 5 years. You
should be factoring in your cash flow projections to
do a major upgrade every 3 years. A major upgrade
typically costs 25% of the original purchase price.
How long will it take to make my investment back?
A lot depends on the venue and marketing, a high
traffic venue like a busy multi-activity facility
like a resort etc can have amazing ROI.
I see that Battlefield Sports is an Australian company
- why has
the concept taken off in
Australia?
Mostly because this is where we started. Similar
market response rates have been found in other
markets. The UK, Canada and USA are strong markets
with a fantastic potential for you.
Will my local television station be interested in
this as a news story?
We have found that Battlefield Live does attract local
media attention. Our local battlefield has been
featured 4 different televisions shows, all quite
high ratings. We have also had consistent attention
from radio and newspapers.
Why won't this work for us? What can go wrong?
There are some factors that can really send this
business into a spin.
-
Wrong location - too far away from population. We
recommend a drawing population of at least 50,000
people, 100,000 is much better.
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Wrong people - you have to be in this as a
professional business, not a player.
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Wrong equipment - if you use cheap plastic guns,
there is no WOW factor so vital for the inspiration
of players.
Bottom line, this is a business like any other
business. You need capital, skill, determination,
great marketing skills, location, love of the
business and other parts of the "perfect storm" the
business works all over the world. The question is
will it work for you?
What capital is required to open this business?
Depends on the business model, typically USD25,000
to USD150,000 is required.
How will Battlefield Sports help us to develop our business?
The business manual is a great start. Our team are
always available to provide advice on every stage of
your business planning. The key is to use us as a
vital business resource.
Why does Battlefield Sports make
metal guns? Why is it good to have heavier guns. Your competitors all
say that light is best?
Main reason, is the WOW! factor. You can't expect people to play if
all you do is provide a plastic gun they could have
purchased at Walmart such as the LTTO gear. Metal
feels real, not like a plastic toy. In this fantasy
creation business, the props used are vital to
suspend disbelief, our gaming guns do just that.
Again, we have hundreds of thousands of players all
over the world it's something that ALL of the other
manufacturers put together don't have. They just
don't have the experience we do. Kids love a heavier
and more realistic gun not something that feels
"gay" ( that's teen talk for not cool) their
language, not ours... The next reason is metal is
durable and maintainable. We can panel beat metal
plates back into place, not possible with resin or
plastic, it will simply crack.
What's the usual delivery time?
6-8 weeks
Why is this a great lifestyle business?
Giving so many people such a good time face to face
is really special. This is a lot of fun to run. Its
also a very healthy choice, you are in the outdoors,
often in the woods and getting fit at the same time,
what could be better? Do you guys offer tech support?
The most important part of support of course is to
make the guns so robust, so water resistant and easy
to use people need very little support. Of course we do provide ongoing tech support and we
are contactable 24x7 for telephone. Email response
is never more than 24 hours. I'd like to add this to our entertainment options
at our location. How popular will it be?
From our experience, especially if there are lots of
pre-teens and teens there, it will be the most
popular attraction. Do kids come back and play over and over again?
That is our experience, especially for birthday
parties. Is it true that Battlefield Live is taking market
share from XBOX, Ps2, Sony and other entertainment games?
We complement these products. People love their
computer games and then want to try a live
experience with lots of other people in a big
battle, that's where we (you) come in. There is no
doubt we reduce the time people spend playing
computer games because more of their leisure time is
spent outdoors playing the "live" version.
Is this a fad?
It does not appear to have the business genetics of
a fad, what we have seen is strong but steady growth
in our retail tickets sales for the last 5 years. It
appears there is a genuine interest in gaming
generally
Is this a trend? How long will it last?
The megatrends towards gaming is clear and strong.
How long it will keep growing is hard for anyone to
predict.
EQUIPMENT FAQ
What sort of
warranty do you offer?
We have a 24 months return to base warranty for all
of our guns, in other words we will replace or
repair any defective products without charge so long
as the damage does not arise from certain
circumstances such as abuse or emersion (these are
listed in detail in the sales agreement). The
warranty does not cover infrared transmitters,
switches or buttons because they are considered to
be consumables. They burn out after extended use,
just like a light bulb, and need to be replaced.
You must have 1 complete spares kit per 10 guns
in use. Recommended weapons packages?
While a set of 10 guns is enough to start your own
Battlefield Live Club, is not enough for a viable
commercial operation. We recommend that a set of 21
is the minimum start up. As they say, "the bigger
the battle the better". Our 30 gun package is
designed for three teams of ten
players, this would suit a commercial
operation in a provincial city. Our 100 gun mega
package is a 100 gun set and ideal for a major city.
See our
Invest
page for more information.
Are batteries
included?
Yes, you get 1 battery per gun, included. If you want, spare batteries, then you will need
7.2 volt
NiMH
batteries (we recommend 3,000mAh or more, but 2,000mAh+ is ok. (The lower the ampage just means you will need to re-charge more often.) You will also need a charger. These
batteries last for ages,
we have been using the same batteries for going on
2-3 years. The 3,000mAh batteries last for a lot of
game play. Roughly 125 hours, depending on how much
a player shoots.
Any 7.2v 3000amp or better R/C car 6 pack battery
will suit. Battlefield Sports can provide
you with
these,
just ask us.
The sport is called "Battlefield Live"
are there any actual
lasers?
There are no lasers used in our units. In fact we
use infrared, similar to your TV remote control. In fact at Battlefield Sports™ we
believe our equipment is safe, as detailed in our
Safety Certificate.
You might also like to read our
Safety Report.
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