why is lean disappearing from games?

Cover systems seem to be taking over in its place. 

and those that don't use cover systems generally aren't the type of shooter to need it (CoD, Halo, etc.)

It always seemed to be more of a PC thing since there are the buttons available right next to WASD (Q and E) but on console it ends up being harder to do lean due to the amount of buttons and the placement. Also except maybe sometimes on sniper I dont see it used all that often, and even for snipers it tends to be a few dedicated people.

Most games nowadays you don't really need lean(my opinion, anyways), but it's always a nice addition to a game.  Personally if a game is tough enough to where you have to lean out of cover a tiny bit to fire so you don't get shot, I much prefer RB6V's cover system to leaning.

It is definitely a PC mechanic and the rapid consolification of games in general is leading to loss of many characteristic mechanics in games which were unique to PC games.

" It is definitely a PC mechanic and the rapid consolification of games in general is leading to loss of many characteristic mechanics in games which were unique to PC games. "

I had a lean pizza hot pocket the other day.  It was pretty good.  Don't know if you can really consider that lean, though...

" @pwnasaurus:  when in your life have you ever cared about lean? "

thank you consoles, for making everything alot more shallow.

"Yeah, I like it. That's kinda what made me less like F.E.A.R. 2 actually. Dang, I was just thinking about the leaning function myself. It seems more like they don't have it in console games in yet they do for PC. So, that's somewhat alright. Like, Killzone 2? Ok, it didn't need the cover system, I thought it was cool when I first played it, then when I started wanting to stand near a wall while ducking, without having to be on cover, I felt there should have been a lean instead. "

My guess would be there just isn't enough buttons on the controller for most games.  

Lean wasn't replaced by cover mechanics.  Lean *is* a cover mechanic.  But since the TPS has gotten popular, it seems that all games with any cover are in that category, and all FPSes have no cover.  Obviously, leaning still exists in the third person shooter.  The problem with first person cover mechanics is that taking cover is really complicated, perspective wise.  Ultimately it's about looking someplace you can't fire and firing someplace you can't see, whereas the first person shooter is all about this 1:1 correlation between where you're looking and where you're shooting.  Hell if I know what the solution is, but I hope there is one, because I really don't prefer the third person perspective.

I don't know for sure, but I think Crysis 2 will keep it's lean feature, as well as adding new cover mechanics.

I never liked lean. Too many buttons/keys to be holding down at once.

leaning is for jerks

" It is definitely a PC mechanic and the rapid consolification of games in general is leading to loss of many characteristic mechanics in games which were unique to PC games. "

I want to see Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood's dynamic cover improved on for FPS's, they need to fix the clipping issue.
 
 

Lean may be older but putting boxes everywhere makes a lot of games aesthetically stupid looking and gamey. Real life has walls all over, boxes are a bit rarer.

Lean wit it Rock wit it.

leaning in games is superfluous to gameplay. it's a feature that is very rarely used by the general audience.

good point, probably cause of the lack on buttons on a console. just not wortth the trouble of including it.

"leaning in games is superfluous to gameplay. it's a feature that is very rarely used by the general audience. "

TheHT said it best. Lack of buttons on a console. 
 
No one seems to give a shit about PC gamers anymore. Why include something that doesn't really affect gameplay?

Gamers don't dance they just pull up their pants and do the rock away, now lean back.
^FAIL^
 
But seriously, If a game doesn't have the lean feature in it then apparently I don't need it.

I use leaning all the time and I hate when they leave it out.

most current shooters are looking fast paced, hig intensity action and i guess plodding in and out of cover to take a few pot shots then crouch down for another 10 minutes isn't really that interesting for some reason. 
 
also
 @trophyhunter said:

" leaning is for jerks "

"most current shooters are looking fast paced, hig intensity action and i guess plodding in and out of cover to take a few pot shots then crouch down for another 10 minutes isn't really that interesting for some reason. 
 
also
  @trophyhunter said:

" leaning is for jerks "

this. "

I've never understood the concept of leaning in video games. What was the last FPS you played where the enemy took shots or attacked different parts of your body? If anything, by leaning from around a corner you're only giving the AI a better look at your head. Even in multiplayer games, there is a very thin line between leaning around a corner and just standing around a corner, so why make the differentiation when all it does is slacken the intensity and pace of the game? 
 
I have never played a game where leaning was effective or important.

cuz it's pointless.

Leaning is now attributed to cholos.  Not video games.

Killzone 2 cover system was kind of decent and was a console game.  I'd prefer much more lean features like it in the future.

Because its awkward, boring and rubbish.

Agreed. Where's my sizzurp?
 
 

To be honest, I never actually used Lean when I could. 
Not even when playing later games like the stalker games but I think (as someone might already have said) that things like lean is easier to do on the PC since you have Q and E to do that for. 
Console shooters would have a hard time with that unless more buttons suddenly appeared on the controllers for no reason while you were sleeping. 
 
But I don't think it's going to go away 100% from at least PC shooters. 
Unless of course there's some kind of weird cover mechanic going on in the game

We might see it again with all these motion controls coming out.

All the buttons on the controller are already taken up.

There's an arcade TPF/FPS game which came out in 2008 called Police 911 / Police 24 which uses infrared motion detection to control the movement of the player's character, while the weapon tracking is done via a pretty classic plastic lighgun implementation.  This allows the player to hide behind cover, pop out and lean out in a pretty dynamic fashion.
 
 

I hated it back in Rainbow 6 games from the original Xbox days.  You'd enter an online competitive game and you'd see folks running around leaning all the time.  Running down the hallway leaning.  Jumping from heights leaning.  Leaning improved a players chance to avoid getting hit according to the game mechanic so players always moved leaning.  But, if I recall correctly, it was mapped to the D-Pad so, I guess people were constantly pushing down on the D-Pad while doing all the other things the game required.

I want leaning back goddamnit.

" thank you consoles, for making everything alot more shallow. "

I never use lean in games, so whatever.