That’s why every time a new disc comes out, the marketing machine revs up. It’s time to convince you that you either have a hole in your line up, or that something much better than what you already have has just been released.

Uh, bullshit. Tell the customer what the disc does. Let them decide if they want that. Really, I'm supposed to tell them they need it or they've never seen anything like it? Fuck that, I have more respect for my customers. I don't treat them like children who've never seen an equipment option before.

But they want you to buy their products more than they want you to play better. And you have to remember that a big part of why they want you to play better is so that you keep playing and therefore keep buying more of their products.

Bullshit. I want customers to skip a disc release if it's not for them, and I can do that by describing what it does for various skill levels. There are key words that tell people they wouldn't like its flight, and I use them often. Why the fuck would I want someone making a purchase they'd regret?

how do we find a way to wade through all the marketing and hype to find what will be truly beneficial to us and our enjoyment of the game?

You know what's marketing and hype? Looking to professional players for a representation of how your disc might fly. Players who could throw anything on the market better than you. Attaching your opinion of a flying disc to the tournament performance of some dude. Promoting tournament finishes instead of educating players on flight physics and how to get the most out of your discs. No, watch this hunky dude, don't you wanna be him? Pro Sponsorship marketing assumes you're a sucker-ass groupie bitch. And damn is it effective.