Hey TL, I just did some quick analysis of APM by race for a couple of different datasets.
I used sc2gears to get APM info (so the APM will be much higher than what is shown in game, especially after patch 1.4) and then used a one way ANOVA in SPSS to analyze the differences between groups.
The first dataset was my last 209 opponents over the last month and a half in high masters (I'm currently 950+). Here are the results:
Protoss: 129
Terran: 158
Zerg: 185
I used Tukey's HSD to determine that all three groups differ significantly from each other (p <.01, in all cases). This means that Terran APM is statistically significantly higher than Protoss APM and Zerg APM is statistically significantly higher than Terran.
The next dataset is the 236 replays in the MLG Raleigh replay pack just recently released. Here are those results:
Protoss: 168
Terran: 201
Zerg: 221
Terran and Zerg do not differ significantly. However, both Terran and Zerg APM are significantly higher than Protoss APM.
I thought this was neat because it lends support to the idea that Protoss is the easiest race. I know many people already believe this, but many Protoss players out there are in denial. These results, of course, aren't the final word on the issue, but they are piece of objective, empirical evidence in support of the "Protoss is EZPZ" hypothesis
P.S. I'd love to do an analysis of Korean data, but I need a big replay pack of a Korean pro (100+ replays). Or, if anyone wants to take the time to just download 100+ korean replays off a replay website and send them to me as a zip, that would work too.
Personally, I feel that least mechanical demanding does not translate into it being the easiest race to play? While APM is a good statistic for skill (if you compare APM across leagues, from bronze up till masters), the macro style of zerg and terran are different from protoss (pressing A 10 times for 5 reactor barracks = ten food, pressing Z 10 times = 10 food while pressing Z 5 times for 5 zealots = 10 food), leading to protoss generally having less APM cos Protoss units are more expensive foodwise.
___________________________________
Drop hacks, gotta watch out for dem Drop hacks.
Even the smallest donations help keep sc2sea running! All donations go towards helping our site run including our monthly server hosting fees and sc2sea sponsored community tournaments we host. Find out more here.