mentions the three words "shooting machine", the scene that appears in our minds is probably like this: in a noisy game hall, in front of side by side shooting machines, people are shooting in various strange postures, and after passing the level, the basket It will also move left and right. If the level fails, the player may invest a few more game coins and try again.
After calculation, you only need to spend a few yuan to play the shooting machine game. Almost no one would think of spending hundreds or even thousands of yuan to buy it and move it home.
But abroad, this demand does exist. Opening an Amazon search, you can find various assembleable home version shooting machines ranging from tens to hundreds of dollars. Many users left messages under the product saying, "This is the best gift I have ever bought for my children."
is a shooting game that was brought to the market by Ken Cochran in the 1980s. After 40 years of development, the game scene has gradually developed from sports camps and bars to communities and families. Initially, the "Pop-A-Shot" company founded by Cochran only charged players a dollar to shoot 10 balls. Today, the most expensive Pop-A-Shot shooting machine has been sold for $999.
html Buying a home shooting machine for US$0,999 is unimaginable for many people. But some people still think that the price does not reach the upper limit of the shooting machine. Moreover, shooting machines that can only time, score, and cheer are no longer keeping up with the times. Last year, Frank Sinopoli founded the brand HomeBallerz, claiming to build a Peloton-like home shooting machine. Daina Falk, the daughter of famous NBA agent David Falk, who once had resources for stars such as Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing, is the co-founder of HomeBallerz .
is on par with Peloton in terms of price and functionality. According to Sportico, a shooting machine with two hoops costs $1,500, plus a monthly online subscription fee. As can be seen from Peloton’s official website, the price of Peloton Bike has dropped to US$1,495. The prices of the two are indeed comparable.
In terms of function, HomeBallerz adds a touchable electronic screen to the shooting machine, from which you can choose online opponents. These opponents may be stars and professional players. The game pictures can be uploaded to Instagram, Meta (Facebook), YouTube To some extent, social media has also become a way for users to attract fans through social media.
“I don’t have to be with friends or family. I can join any team or league online and compete with people from all over the world, just like Call of Duty. I think this game is moving towards professionalism. "Sinopoli hopes to transform the shooting machine from a casual entertainment game into a serious e-sports project. The official website of HomeBallerz shows that competition types include free shooting, league competition, team battle, speed competition, etc. The
product plans to be officially launched early next year. The first thing to attract are influential celebrities in the fields of sports and music, and such connections are what the company's senior team is capable of gathering.
HomeBallerz's vice president of music is producer Mark the Mogul, former Leigh Steinberg Sports Entertainment CEO David Meltzer serves as the company's investor and advisor, and Hollywood star Tiffany Haddish serves as the company's chief creative officer - she will also help the company in entertainment Build connections with the industry and perhaps become one of the spokespersons when the product is launched.
The first generation Pop-A-Shot.
Although Sinopoli believes that shooting machine games are developing in a professional direction, the commercial value of this product is also worthy of in-depth exploration. However, judging from the historical development of the first generation shooting machine game - Pop-A-Shot, the technical threshold for companies in this industry is not high, and it is relatively difficult to become a large company.
In the development process of Pop-A-Shot, infringement is a common occurrence. Many shooting machines in pizza restaurants and bars are branded with the Pop-A-Shot brand. Not every lawsuit can be won, and the cost is high. huge.
According to Inc magazine, when it was acquired by Tony Stucker in 2016, Pop-A-Shot’s annual sales were only 300 units. At that time, the company only sold high-end shooting machines for use in public places. It is also not sold through channels such as Amazon, where other vendors are squeezing Pop-A-Shot’s market share at one-third the price.
After Stark acquired Pop-A-Shot, he updated the company's brand logo and established a website. He shifted Pop-A-Shot's positioning to home shooting machines and launched it for sale on Amazon. In January this year, it also cooperated with the NBA to launch a shooting machine with an NBA team logo version. Even if sales increase by 1500% to US$8 million in 3 years, this is still a small amount.
HomeBallerz is obviously already thinking about how to expand categories and scenarios in the future. It mentioned on its official website that the company will not only focus on shooting machines, but also move into a broader fitness field.
Sinopoli believes that in the future, in addition to cultivating fans, HomeBallerz players may also become brand spokespersons. In the Internet era, when the home fitness track is booming, this will allow HomeBallerz to take a completely different path from traditional shooting machines.
