The "game console couch squat" phenomenon

by Conrad Quilty-Harper { Jun 6th 2006 at 6:25PM }

John Dvorak has posted an article over at PC Magazine that takes a look at new technology from the modern world that has caused us to behave strangely, at least from the perspective of a person from 100 years ago. Some examples include the chatroom, where teenagers spend hours typing and reading pointless messages and the "digital camera arm stretch" where people hold their digicams at an arm's length instead of peeking through a viewfinder.

The most relevant example for this blog is the "game console couch squat" that many gamers tend to exhibit. As Dvorak says, "this is now a stereotyped image" that is used to represent gamers in TV commercials, TV shows and movies. The couch squat is usually accompanied by gyrating body and hand movements as the player guides his or her on-screen persona. I take issue with Dvorak's claim that this is an entirely new phenomenon: the phrase "on the edge of your seat" was used decades before video games to imply a person's immersion in a story or a movie.

We can expect that the Xbox 360 and the PS3 controller will continue to advance the stereotype (and, in the case of the PS3's motion sensitivity, the arm movements), but there's always the chance that the Wii's single-handed approach to game control will stir things up a bit.

[Image: Couch Gamers on Flickr]

Tags: Couch Gamers, CouchGamers, Dvorak, PC Mag, PcMag, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, Xbox360

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Revadarth @ Jun 6th 2006 6:36PM

I do that.

scott @ Jun 6th 2006 6:38PM

They should add the "talking to yourself out loud" thing that people do with the ear phone jacks.

Sabre @ Jun 6th 2006 6:52PM

Uhh...Conrad...

He's not saying that the "couch squat" is something new. He's saying that console gamers who do this are trying to get more focused on a particular area of a game. Hence:

"...in an attempt to control some action on a TV screen hooked to a video game console."

Conrad Quilty-Harper @ Jun 6th 2006 6:54PM

Uhh...Sabre...

He is saying the couch squat is new.

"GAME CONSOLE COUCH SQUAT. This is also something new and it affects all ages."

J B Cougar @ Jun 6th 2006 7:06PM

Anyway, after reading about two too many posts that used the term "couch squat" I'll say this:

I work in the tech industry as a journalist, and John C. Dvorak is readily referred to by many circles as a bombastic idiot. He's been around forever, and this column linked to above is yet another example of his mastery of the slow news day.

Ruhtra @ Jun 6th 2006 7:07PM

Am I the only one who doesn't do that? I actually lay back and relax while I'm playing games.

Rare Hare @ Jun 6th 2006 7:08PM

sometimes i try to stop myself from hunching forward in my seat like that while playing a game. i think about what bad posture it is. but i always end up reverting back to it, and i've accepted it as the most comfortable gaming posture.

it really does seem to get you more in touch with what's going on on the screen. if i can lean in and focus more on a particular spot or object on the screen, i feel like i have more control over what i'm doing. it's such a natural thing to do, i actually don't doubt that it really does increase your accuracy and precision when hammering lots of buttons in an attempt to, say, hit a hole on a running play in a football game, or hit a jump just right on a skateboarding or racing game.

the phenomenon also exists on PC games, however. therefore, associating it solely with console games is incorrect. i feel even worse about hunching at my pc whule playing a round of call of duty or something than i do at my consoles, because at least at my consoles i have my knees to rest on and i'm not endangering my eyes by placing my face so close to a screen.

i've tried other postures.. from sitting up straight to laying on my back to laying on my stomach. none of them offer the same level of user-spawned "immersion" that the hunch does.

KineticOnline @ Jun 6th 2006 7:13PM

I just have one addition to make to the comments, forget the squat everyone does that. The true sign of an someone that has been sucked totally into a game is when they stand up really close to the screen.

The other thing common in the oldest/youngest casual gamer is moving their head to get a better view of something around the corner or behind an object.

The ZeroCorpse @ Jun 6th 2006 7:19PM

I lean back, on a fluffy pillow. Why be uncomfortable like a PC gamer?

I think this is a hang-over for PC gamers, and a pose for type-A personalities who REALLY get into winning a game.

TK00 @ Jun 6th 2006 7:22PM

Sit up straight kids; you'll have less back problems when you're older.

spazz @ Jun 6th 2006 7:38PM

Doesn't the couch squat have a lot to do with the restriction of movement due to the damn cord attached to a controller? I did the couch squat for years, but with my wireless 360 and wavebird controllers, I'm now free to lounge in much lazier positions.

In five years, the couch squat will be dead and gone.

Sabre @ Jun 6th 2006 7:48PM

--> "The other thing common in the oldest/youngest casual gamer is moving their head to get a better view of something around the corner or behind an object."

HAHA! I do that do and don't even realize it half the time.

--> "I work in the tech industry as a journalist, and John C. Dvorak is readily referred to by many circles as a bombastic idiot. He's been around forever, and this column linked to above is yet another example of his mastery of the slow news day."

So b/c it is a slow news day and he rights about stuff that is TRUE he is an idiot? Umm...sure buddy.

--> "the phenomenon also exists on PC games, however. therefore, associating it solely with console games is incorrect."

Not really...how many time do you see a PC gamer hunched in front a screen when compared to a console gamer? I've been playing console games since I was 6/7 and didn't really start playing PC gamers somewhat seriously until the late 1990's.

Shaymus22 @ Jun 6th 2006 8:04PM

I TOTALLY do that ALL the time, and can say that about my friends as well.

I like the idea that it's because the games keep us on the edge of our seats. :)

Rare Hare @ Jun 6th 2006 8:26PM

Sabre:

are you just trying to argue with people? your unnecessary reply to my comment didn't even support your counter-statement.

i said that the hunch is also present in pc gamers, and you tell me i'm wrong and go on to tell me how long you've been playing console games as opposed to pc games like it's some kind of evidence??

care to revise that?

cringer8 @ Jun 6th 2006 8:31PM

Sabre, the ONLY way to play a PC game is by squatting forward over the keyboard and mouse. And, the article does clearly state that the couch squat is a new thing right in sentence one. Don't correct people unless they're wrong.

dongle @ Jun 6th 2006 8:48PM

What a surprise- a Dvorak column that isn't filled with idiotic, misinformed predictions and analyses of tech happenings.

Sabre @ Jun 6th 2006 9:02PM

Did I say you were 100% wrong? No. I stated that the amount of people who do hunch over on console games is probably higher then that of PC games.

@ cringer:

Just b/c you seem to consider yourself to be a bitter old man doesn't mean everyone hunches super close to the computer monitor. I usually sit about 2 to 2 1/2 feet from my monitor when I play PC games (if I'm using my monitor.) However if I am playing on my TV (i.e. FPS) then I sit at the same distance I would for a console game...5-6 feet.

Neko Tsukimi @ Jun 7th 2006 1:05AM

I can't think of how I sit when I play. Sometimes I'm stretched out in the chair with my legs on opposite legs of the chair and my controller held down in the newly-formed free space (I swear it's so comfortable). Then there's the rolling around on the floor often playing from my back which comes in handy when there's a lot of cutscenes... And also the standing up trying to play REAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLY quick. But I just like being on the floor really until my back hurts. Nothing beats the floor.

cringer8 @ Jun 7th 2006 4:30AM

Sabre,
Did I say anything about being close to the monitor? Let me check (by reading)...nope, not there. My comment was on posture.

If anything, you should've corrected me on my exaggeration: using the word "only" instead of "best" (changing my comment from a "statement of fact" to an "opinion").

Amir @ Jun 7th 2006 5:14AM

KineticOnline:

Yes, I am guilty of getting really engrossed and standing up close to the screen. Often happens when I'm about to or just have beaten a game or an exceptionally hard mission. Followed by embarassing whoops of glee.

sabre @ Jun 7th 2006 5:48AM

"the ONLY way to play a PC game is by squatting forward over the keyboard and mouse."

Squatting over the keyboard is sitting really close to the monitor.

martin @ Jun 7th 2006 6:46AM

All of us gamers are really just waiting for the invention of the gaming toilet. Never have to leave your online character alone with a bunch of sadistic teamates, now with the gaming toilet, it has never been easier to just pop a 'couch squat'.

hilker @ Jun 7th 2006 1:53PM

http://www.sfgate.com/eguide/images/littleman/movies/4.0.gif

Kyle B @ Jun 7th 2006 2:42PM

There is a simple reason that people prefer the "hunch" vs. sitting back or lying down on there belly. When you are sitting on the edge of the seat it prevents your body from being limited on movements. For example, leaning back on the couch prevents your shoulders and back from being able to rotate or lean into a button push, the physical side effect is that you are relying on your forarms and fingers to do all the work involved in using the controller.

Now...may be thinking that this is obsurd and that your arms and back are not involved in pushing the buttons, but they are. Imagine having your wrists clamped down to a table and trying to play a game. It would be VERY hard to do. This is because your wrists themselves move up and down when you reach for different buttons, and your hand placement actually shifts quite a bit for where it is placed on the controller. Sitting upright makes these hand shifts easier and provides a quicker response because you can do these movements with muscles located at the shoulders and back.

You REALLY do have more control sitting upright. Your body knows this, and that is why there is an urge to sit up so that those muscles are no longer being "tacked down". Your brain might not realize it though.

So..based on this the "edge of your seat" reference is actually a quite different occurence. Why would you need to sit at the edge of your seat during an exciting movie? Most likely this is a side affect of the natural "fight or flight" reaction. Perhaps your body triggers an urge for you to put yourself into a position that would most easily provide an exit should things get too intense or dangerous. Your body is basically making you get ready to run like hell. Similar to how a cat will tense up and crouch when you sneak up on them.