The ‘gamer lean’ is real and it genuinely helps you win at FIFA

Furthermore, Dr. Utley went on to carry out further, more incisive analysis, not only on this habitual gaming trend but how it correlates to actual success when playing, using FIFA as the game of choice to test.

The numbers

Her research discovered that of the near 8000 leaners, 49.2% did so naturally, 9.3% did so on purpose and 41.5% found that they did both. That minority is clearly more than just committed to winning at whatever game they’re playing: they were on to a now tried a tested tactic – so too those that leaned in intentionally or not.

Though everyone sat in various different locations – on the end of a bed, on the sofa; gaming chairs and other seats, some even standing up (you 0.7% have some explaining to do) – they all had very valid reasons for doing so.

While most people simply cited that they felt more alert when doing the gamer lean, with the second most popular reason being that it just helped them see better, there were some more detailed rationales that we can certainly get behind.

11.1% said that they think leaning would “support my body better” and a savvy 6.5% of people posited the very sensible suggestion that it eliminates other distractions by “reducing peripheral vision”. On the other hand, 23.2% gave a myriad of adjacent justifications – we don’t have a full list but let’s just say there’s method in everyone madness.

The experiment

So, with all that being said, Stakester and Dr. Utley set about handing out a task to their test subjects. They selected 10 gamers who played an average of 8-10 hours of FIFA a week – which they estimated to meet the definition of a “casual” player – and asked them to record themselves playing five online matches.

The sample was taken from men aged between 18-35 from around the UK and Europe as this most closely resembled the app’s main demographic and, most importantly, they didn’t tell them why exactly they were being filmed. Every participant played the game as they would normally and no mention of a living ‘FIFA lean forward’ meme was uttered.

As the study reads: “We analysed each player’s movement and body position in the footage. We noted every major event that transpired in-game, how players reacted to them and their body position when each event occurred”. It was only afterwards that they were given the survey and asked to report on how aware they were of the gamer lean and if they thought it was effective.

The FIFA Facts

From this point on, as the saying goes, ‘the stats speak for themselves’. As was observed across the total of 50 online matches against real-life opponents, the experiment found that players scored more than double the number of goals while leaning as they usually would when sitting back – 110 in total.

It was noted that not only did players lean multiple times during a single game – usually to react to big in-game moment like scoring, conceding, losing the ball etc. – but that it clearly “sharpened players’ instincts in front of goal”. Apparently, players were even inclined to incline when they picked up the ball with Cristiano Ronaldo, in particular. CR7 strikes again.

Moreover, the study found that players performances didn’t just improve when it came to scoring but defending too; though the gulf wasn’t quite as stark, they still let in 14 fewer goals when leaning forward. Improvement at both ends of the pitch. “Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles” – or at least the right to be mentioned in a scientific study.

The catch

So, that settles that then, right? Leaning in makes you a better FIFA player—FACTS. Well, turns out there’s a catch. I mean, think about it: we’ve all done the gamer lean and still failed to reap the rewards somehow.

The truth is, Dr Utley found that there is a specific ‘lean threshold’ that players operate within when playing FIFA or (in theory) any game, for that matter. Leaning forward for the entire game won’t help you but doing so strategically could. Here’s what she recommends: