Spring Break
Gaming's 'inconvenient truth'
Fernando Dutra
Issue date: 3/24/09 Section: Focus
Dedicated gamers are in a difficult position if they also consider themselves to be environmentally aware and considerate. It takes 100 to 500 trees to absorb the carbon dioxide produced by a computer left on all day, so one can imagine the strain it must be for a gamer who owns three consoles and a computer. This is made all the more difficult when current generation consoles have functions that encourage users to keep their consoles on - i.e. Wii Connect 24, Folding @ Home. As can be expected, studies haven't been particularly supportive of continual video game usage.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), alongside Ecos Consulting, released their findings after conducting the first-ever comprehensive study on the energy use of video games late last year. With 40 percent of households containing at least one console, the group estimated that these produce roughly 16 billion kilowatt-hours per year. This is close to the annual electricity use of the city of San Diego.
The study found that the Nintendo Wii, which the group called the "juice sipper" of the three major consoles, requires the least energy to operate, using one-seventh that of the PlayStation 3 (PS3) and one-ninth that of the Xbox 360's. They were quick to point out the difference in functionality across these various consoles, and how the difference in graphical capabilities affects energy consumption and production. Since launching, the PS3 and the 360 have been optimizing their systems to become more energy efficient, ranging from different parts for the consoles themselves or internal functionality, like adding a sleep or hibernation mode after the console isn't being used after a while.
The NRDC's greatest finding and suggestion to manufacturers was, since consoles normally use just as much power in idle mode as in regular use, "building in an automatic power-down feature that would put a gaming console into a low-power mode following a defined period of inactivity is the single change that would bring the greatest savings in annual electricity consumption." The simplest suggestion offered for users was to simply power down consoles after playing a game - something increasingly difficult in the current generation.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), alongside Ecos Consulting, released their findings after conducting the first-ever comprehensive study on the energy use of video games late last year. With 40 percent of households containing at least one console, the group estimated that these produce roughly 16 billion kilowatt-hours per year. This is close to the annual electricity use of the city of San Diego.
The study found that the Nintendo Wii, which the group called the "juice sipper" of the three major consoles, requires the least energy to operate, using one-seventh that of the PlayStation 3 (PS3) and one-ninth that of the Xbox 360's. They were quick to point out the difference in functionality across these various consoles, and how the difference in graphical capabilities affects energy consumption and production. Since launching, the PS3 and the 360 have been optimizing their systems to become more energy efficient, ranging from different parts for the consoles themselves or internal functionality, like adding a sleep or hibernation mode after the console isn't being used after a while.
The NRDC's greatest finding and suggestion to manufacturers was, since consoles normally use just as much power in idle mode as in regular use, "building in an automatic power-down feature that would put a gaming console into a low-power mode following a defined period of inactivity is the single change that would bring the greatest savings in annual electricity consumption." The simplest suggestion offered for users was to simply power down consoles after playing a game - something increasingly difficult in the current generation.
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