In Fortnite: Battle Royale, there is an unpleasant trend among pro streamers. They play the game in a squished format because they hope to gain advantages this way. This bothers the viewers greatly.
Why do pros intentionally play with terrible graphics? Pro gamers primarily care about performance and efficiency. That’s why most turn down the graphics to get more FPS. However, some players go even further and play in a 4:3 format instead of the prettier 16:9.
What is the advantage of 4:3? In the 4:3 format, everything is squished and therefore distorted. The characters appear wider as a result. This was a significant advantage for players in games like Counterstrike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) because the 4:3 format increased the hitbox of opponents. This refers to the area of an opponent that can be hit.
CS:GO trick may not work in Fortnite
Evidence against hitbox advantage: However, the trick with the 4:3 from the good old CS:GO days might not work in Fortnite. A user named Wictor1992 has looked into this and created several comparison images.
Disadvantage instead of advantage? It is shown that in Fortnite, characters become wider in 4:3 but also shorter. As a result, the overall target may actually be smaller rather than larger. The successes that a streamer may have would then be more of a placebo effect than truly due to the distorted format.
Players hate the distorted format
Reasons against the 4:3 format: Even if the distorted format might provide some benefit, the following reasons argue against it:
- It is ugly: It is simply unpleasant when someone plays in a distorted format. Especially when – like in the current Summer Skirmish Tournament – the camera switches from a 16:9 image to a 4:3 shot. Every time this happens, there is a flurry of complaints from the stream viewers. Some even feel nauseous from it.
- It is unfair: Moreover, it is a form of exploit when someone gains an advantage in the game by altering the screen format. For that reason alone, players want this trend to stop.
Should Epic prevent 4:3? It would be a good thing for many if Epic would exclude the 4:3 format in tournaments. That would be fair and would be easier on the viewers’ eyes.
But what do you think? Does the 4:3 format bother you as well? Or do you not care how someone plays?
