Science Says: In MP Shooters, Always Bet On Red

Let’s take Unreal Tournament 2004. A still somewhat-popular online shooter. Now, UT2004 has two teams: red and blue. Just like a lot of other online games. If you recorded the results of 1,347 UT2004 MP matches, you’d think that, over time, the results would balance out, yes? 50% to the red team, 50% to the blue team. But no! Researchers at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark have found that red came out on top, winning 55% of the matches, tying online gaming into similar studies performed in physical sports, where it’s been suggested teams/athletes wearing red enjoy an advantage over others. The reason? Because the “colour red may act as a psychological distractor for men, possibly because men flush and turn red when they’re angry”. Implied is that blue may also act as a psychological distractor for men, possibly because it makes them think of blue skies, fluffy clouds and lazy days at the beach instead of the bloody job at hand.

[AP] [Pic]