A Comparative Study of Peripheral Perception and Reaction Time Between Esports Gamers and University Athletes

Peripheral perception plays a vital role in reacting promptly to stimuli during both esports and traditional sports. Peripheral vision is a key source of sensory information that significantly influences outcomes in these activities. Despite the growing research interest in esports, little is known regarding peripheral perception and reaction time in professional esports gamers (EG) compared with athletes in traditional sports. This study aimed to examine the peripheral perception and reaction time of EG compared with athletes. Ten professional EG and 25 university athletes voluntarily participated. The findings revealed no significant difference in the field of vision and eye–hand reaction time between the two groups. However, university athletes exhibited significantly faster eye–foot reaction times than professional EG ( p = .003). This result suggests that involvement and experience in esports might be crucial for eye–hand reaction time, whereas traditional sports may be critical for both eye–hand and eye–foot reaction times.