Story Highlights
  • A study has observed that certain people are naturally more perceptive to fast motion.
  • In a sample size of 80 men and women, some could see light flashes more than 60 times in one second.
  • Researchers believe the latter group has access to more visual information at any given moment.

Frame rates are a hot topic in the gaming industry. Reports like GTA 6 potentially skipping 60FPS on consoles are often enough to bring out the community’s pitchforks, yet many people are seemingly fine with playing 30FPS games on the Nintendo Switch.

According to a new study, this discrepancy is not too strange. Researchers have found that certain people are naturally more sensitive to tracking faster movements and changes, making them more sensitive to higher frame rates.

Why it matters: Console gaming is pushing for 60FPS as the new standard. This study helps explain why frame rates are such a big deal.

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The study, published in Plos One, relied on a sample of 80 men and women. With ages varying from 18-35, the sample size had enough variety to aim for an accurate conclusion.

What the researchers found was that many people could see flickering lights more than 60 times in one second. However, others could only track the lights up to 35 times in the same duration.

This effectively means that frame rates are not as universal as many had initially believed.

People who see higher rates have access to more visual information per timeframe than people on the lower end of the spectrum.

-PhD Candidate Clinton Haarlem

The study describes this phenomenon as temporal resolution. This is effectively how fast a brain can distinguish between various visual signals and respond. According to the researchers, certain people see the world faster than others.

Starfield
Starfield Is One of The Few Current-Gen Games Locked At 30FPS On Consoles.

However, the study is just scratching the surface. The researchers remain curious if this trait can be trained, but they state that more data needs to be collected before an accurate conclusion can be drawn.

Anyhow, the study adds a new dynamic to the frame rate debate. While many believe everyone is capable of experiencing gaming at high frame rates, this may not be true.

Ultimately, researchers need more thorough investigations into the matter. The gaming industry is still very keen on maintaining 60FPS as the bare minimum, and consoles have begun to support up to 120FPS gameplay this generation.

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Avinash Jaisrani
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