[pizzainthemorning]

Just a little rant and opinion nothing that important, so if you want, read on.

So I've been here in Japan for about 3 months now, been out to a few games, and have been thinking a lot about this weird airsoft-culture-shock.

Obviously everything is more plentiful and cheaper, but I'm talking more about the actual gaming. Before I really get started, let me say that I'm having a great time playing airsoft (fly half way around the world and shoot people right?) in Japan. A lot of fun, cool, nice people. Good times. That being said, lets go.

To start, my two cents may not be 100% informed, and probably biased. When I say "Canadian Airsoft" I speak mainly about myself and the people I play with, which is a small group mostly isolated from the greater community. However, just reading things in the forums I think the view is more or less the same. When I say "Japanese Airsoft" again, referring to the games I've been to here, and can only assume that most games are played in a similar fashion.

I play airsoft for two reasons:
1. It's fun.
2. Realistic simulation/training.

When we go out in Canada, it's a huge plot of bush and trails, a few people, and a big long creep through those woods. We shoot only at what we can hit, and try to make it as real as possible, even adding in things like wounding to our games.

However, when I look at Japanese airsoft, like a lot of things Japanese.... it's strange. I'd say the average regular airsofter has about $6-700 in gear (some much, much more). That's just gear. Ok, that's cool, taking it very seriously, making it more real and authentic maybe, but then this is where it gets weird. I don't see one normal stock gun. Everything is customized or upgraded in some way or another. Guns so crazy, that they are more or less unrealistic. Customized special motors and high speed gears pumping out thousands of rounds from an automically fed 2000 round box mag such that the sound is no longer a series of rapid individual shots but a constant high pitched whining hum. Today I saw a spring shotgun with a silencer on it (sorry for the language, but really, I mean, what the fuck). P90's that have special extensions so they can take M16 mags (maybe those really exist, but I don't know, it looked weird). Nobody uses lo-caps, where in Canada we go to the trouble of organizing group orders to cut down the cost just to get those precious, realistic locaps.

Now, this makes sense in the fact that guns and accessories are cheap so this can be afforded, but again, I have to relate back to the actual gaming. Like I said, the games are fun, but the game is no longer stealth, no longer reflexes, no longer endurance, no longer cunning, no longer any of those things that I would imagine make a good soldier, the game is "whoever can shoot the most rounds the longest wins". The field we play at is roughly about 100 m x 100 m, and, the average game yields a turnout of about 80 people. Small space, tons of people, and a zillion bb's.

Anyone on this board who's been to Japan and played a bit of airsoft there, I'm anxious to hear your thoughts to see if they're remotely similar to mine. Like I said, this isn't an "attack" on Japan, and I also realize that in Canada sure, sometimes we're not all about the realism, but in general.

Now of course there are arguments against this (there's not a lot of space in Japan, what do you expect? It's cheaper, why not upgrade?), all I'm saying is that in general, I think that "Canadian Airsoft" is in truth more realistic, and in the end, yields better soldiers. Canadians, I salute you.

Alex