An Unfamiliar Energy Crisis

The Next-Gen Video Game Consoles Waste More Energy, Even When Youre Not Playing
The video game industry is at the start of its eighth console generation consisting of
Sonys PlayStation 4, Microsofts Xbox One, and Nintendos Wii U. These next-generation
consoles have been far from disappointing giving gamers the ultimate gaming experience with
1080p high definition graphics and 500 gigabyte hard drives, and each console even has a unique
shape and structure that reduces the size compared to the last generation of consoles
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii1. However, there have been recent studies and information that
shows how the next-generation consoles could have the potential to consume large amounts of
electrical energy which could be enough to power all the homes in Houston, the nations fourthlargest city, for a yearand cost consumers more than $1 billion annually2. In fact, $400
million of the $1 billion will come from the consoles when they are not being used at all. This
will result in 40% of the $1 billion being wasted and spent by these consoles being in standby/
sleep mode 3. Surprisingly, the fact that consoles uses massive amounts of energy is nothing new.
Even the last generation or seventh generation consoles consumed enough power to roughly
equal to the annual electricity use of the city of San Diego, the nations eighth-largest city4. The
next-generation consoles, besides the Nintendo Wii U, uses two to three times electrical energy
than their previous generation console. The Nintendo Wii is the only console that is an energy
sipper using an average of just 37 kilowatt-hours. However, each of the next-generation consoles
does offer differentiated programming and features as well as a changed video gaming
experience which explains the wide ranges of energy used. According to the National Resources
Defense Council, if the video gaming industry would incorporate more eco-friendly power
management features, the nation could potentially save around 11 billion kilowatt-hours of

wasted electrical energy annually while cutting the nations electricity bill by $1 billion per
year, and avoid emissions of more than 7 million tons of CO2 each year5. Even greater savings
would be achieved worldwide5.

Annual Energy Consumption of 7th Generation vs. 8th Generation

Next-Generation Consoles
The next-generation consoles are known to society as the best consoles since the first generation
of consoles. All three consoles now have more of a gamer-friendly interface, many applications
for social media and video streaming, and countless numbers of fantastic games. However, each
console does in fact have some distinctive disadvantages. Here is a summary of the differences
next-generation consoles according to the National Resources Defense Council6:
Nintendo Wii U: Consuming on average just 37 kilowatthours (kWh) annually, the Wii U
is the energy saver of the group. Attracting buyers with interactive, community oriented
game play rather than high-end graphics, the Wii U takes far less energy to operate than

its competitors. In particular, it consumes very little energy when switched off, even
though it remains connected to the Internet and checks for updates.
Sony PlayStation 4 (PS4): Targeted at enthusiastic gamers, the PS4 draws the most power
to play games and watch videos. However, it manages to hold its overall annual energy
consumption to 181 kWh by limiting power when in standby but connected to the
Internet. It could still reduce standby power to levels comparable with the Wii U, which
would reduce its energy consumption further.
Xbox One: Aimed both at serious gamers and at TV viewers who want to control their
television through their console, the Xbox One draws less power than the PS4 to play
games and watch videos. However, its overall energy consumption of nearly 300 kWh
annually when using TV mode is much higher than that of both its competitors, due to its
need to remain on all the time when TV is being watched, and to its high power demand
when listening for a voice command 24/7, even when in standby

Consoles Beginning to Play More Than Just Video Games

Since 2005, there have been an estimated 110 million console systems sold in the United
States6. This is enough units to have at least one in almost every household in the country and the
numbers are continuing to rise as each year progresses. The video game industry is continuing to
evolve every year since the beginning on the first generation consoles. However, today, people
see video games consoles as entertainment mediums that not only give the user video game
playing capabilities, but as a device that allows web browsing, video streaming, and social media
accessibility. In other words, video game consoles are providing more than just an escape from

reality7. For an examples, gamers now have access to Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, YouTube,
Facebook, Twitter, and many more similar applications. In addition, because of the expanded
functions of the consoles, this results in the user spending longer periods of time using the
system. In fact, the next-generation consoles even have Blu-ray and HD video player
accessibilities compared to the previous generations standard DVD player capability. It is also
proven that the HD video players uses from four to seven times as much power as a stand-alone
Blu-ray players and almost 24 times the power of a stand-alone DVD player7. Furthermore,
because of the next-generations ability to have higher processing as well as higher graphic
capabilities, this will cause the systems to consume even more electrical power to play the latest
video games compared to older systems processing, graphics, and an older video games. To add
on to the energy consumption, the connected standby or sleep mode consumes ridiculous
amounts of unnecessary power of which will add up to around 30%-50% of the total annual
energy consumption8. Most of that energy will most likely be consumed in the middle of the,
when the console is in standby mode but still listening for voice commands, like the Xbox One,
or using higher power than necessary to keep USB ports active, like the PS49. In addition, many
systems are left on for extended period of time after gameplay simply because some people
forget to power down their console. This results in the user(s) to leave the console on until they
Power
for
the
Most Common
Operating
decided to continue their game
playDemand
which could
lead
to leaving
the system idle
for hours Systems
and

sometimes even days.

Current Government Involvement

Clearly there is a need for the country to become more energy efficient. The benefits of
energy efficiency are numerous and reducing the energy used by video game consoles as a nation
could be a first step to improving the economy and environment while enhancing the quality of
life. In fact, video game consoles have been considered in a number of international programs
relating to energy efficiency. The United States Environment Protection Agency (EPA) recently
developed a recognition program for game consoles that started in 2009 and finalized the
agencys voluntary criteria for energy efficient game consoles, which included performance
requirements as well as a test method all in 201310. The EPA claims that these criteria recognize
big leaps in efficiency in a number of important ways. Game consoles that meet these criteria
will power down when not in use and play and stream media content in a power-wise manner
meaning users will enjoy a high quality gaming experience for a fraction of the power of a
standard game console11. However, the next generation consoles have proved that these
consoles are not energy efficient as the EPA claimed they would be. In fact, the next generation

consoles were released the same year of the final version of the criteria for energy efficient game
consoles. The EPA, however, recognized that consoles are increasingly providing non-gaming
services, such as media play, and they stated that non-gaming services should be held to similar
standards as devices providing these same services12. As of 2015, the EPA has yet to comment or
produce a statement on the recent data.
On the other hand, the California Energy Commission (CEC) requested proposals for
consideration of new appliance energy efficiency standards in California in October 201213. The
proposal was prepared by the NRDC and it proposed that California adopt a two-tier standard for
video game consoles. This included auto-power down requirements and power limits in
significant modes other than active gameplay. However, the electronics products were on a
slower track, with the draft standards becoming delayed till November 2014 and February 2015.
The NRDC states that this may look like a delay, the reality is that electronics are complex
products, and releasing draft standards by November 2014 will require significant work by the
commission before then. This will help finalize standards for these products as soon as possible
next year14.
Proposed Tier 1 and Tier 2 Measures by NRDC for the CEC New Appliance
Regulations

Potential Solutions
According to the South Dakota Energy Smart, while the amount of electrical energy
consumed by gaming consoles in the United States is extraordinary, there is great potential for
reducing their energy consumption and the relating emissions of pollution15. An idealistic
reasonable goal would be for the video game console consumers to take action themselves. This
would occur by the consumers taking the time to fully power off their systems, instead of leaving
the console on their standby mode or on for long periods of time. In addition to powering off the
systems, the users should also adjust the power savings setting on their system to shut down
automatically after a certain period of time of idling. This would be an effortless and
straightforward task to accomplish, but there will be a vast majority of people that disregard the
suggestions and continue to allow their consoles to consume large amounts of energy; only
because of the fact that the United States is just 39% energy efficient meaning that 61% of the
energy that flows through our economy is ultimately wasted16. As a result, political policies
would have to be implemented to ensure energy efficient consoles. This would mean that
government programs such as EPA would have to strongly influence manufacturers and
developers to improve video game console efficiency, while threatening them with severe
consequences if they refuses to amend the consoles. The EPA would urge manufacturers to
allow users to opt out of Xbox Ones instant-on and voice-command, and PS4s standby
features, in their initial setup menus so these high energy-consumptive modes are used only

when chosen17. In addition, the manufacturers would have to reduce the power draw in standby
mode as well as reducing the demand power for specific applications. While it is first and
foremost the manufacturers responsibility to implement design best practices to minimize
energy waste, users are just as responsible for the waste18.
Concluding Remarks
The United States as a nation is a wasteful country when it comes to energy, but there is
indeed great potential for the country to become more energy efficient. By the country moving
towards improving the video game consoles energy efficiency would be the first step to achieve
substantial energy while cutting back on pollution waste. As the problem of energy consumption
rises, this only means that future generations of consoles could possibly improve the current
situation. This problem of the next-generation consoles consuming massive amounts of energy
are indeed an immense issue, however, the solutions for this problem are quite simple. For future
consoles and/or improvements, the communication and cooperation between the manufactures,
programmers, designers, and users must improve in order to better the energy efficiency of
systems. We must innovate ways to offer more immersive gaming experiences with more
functions available to the user while still reducing the amount of energy required to power the
consoles19. Effective communication and innovation will be the key to stop wasting and
consuming enormous amounts of electrical energy.

End Notes
1.

Larry Frum, Next-generation video game consoles: Which should you buy?, CNN, November 2013,
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/27/tech/gaming-gadgets/compare-xbox-one-playstation-4-wii-u/ ; Stephen Totilo,

2.

3.
4.

5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.

Consoles Moving Into Next Generation, The New York Times, May 2013,
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/27/arts/video-games/xbox-nintendo-and-playstation-look-to-next-generation-ofconsoles.html?_r=0 ; PS4 vs. Xbox One vs. Wii U Comparison Chart, IGN, December 2014,
http://www.ign.com/wikis/xbox-one/PS4_vs._Xbox_One_vs._Wii_U_Comparison_Chart ; Matt Swider, PS4 vs Xbox
One: which is better?, Tech Radar, March 2015, http://www.techradar.com/us/news/gaming/consoles/ps4-vs-xbox-720which-is-better-1127315
Pierre Delforge and Noah Horowitz, The Latest-Generation Video Game Consoles: How Much Energy Do They Waste
When Youre Not Playing?, NRDC Issue Paper, May 2014, http://www.nrdc.org/energy/game-consoles/files/videogame-consoles-IP.pdf
Ibid
Noah Horowitz, Lowering the Cost of Play, NRDC Issue Paper, November 2008,
http://www.nrdc.org/energy/consoles/files/consoles.pdf. ; Saqib Rahim, Video Gamers Use as Much Energy as San
Diego, Scientific American, December 2010, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/video-gamers-use-as-muchenergy-as-san-diego/
Pierre Delforge and Noah Horowitz, The Latest-Generation Video Game Consoles: How Much Energy Do They Waste
When Youre Not Playing?, NRDC Issue Paper, May 2014, http://www.nrdc.org/energy/game-consoles/files/videogame-consoles-IP.pdf
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Paul Karaffa, EPA Cover Letter, EPA, March 2013,
http://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/specs//GameConsole_FinalVersion_CoverLetter_3_5_2013.pdf
Ibid
Ibid
Pierre Delforge, California Moving Forward on 15 New Appliance Efficiency Standards, NRDC, March 2014,
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/pdelforge/california_moving_forward_on_1.html
Ibid
Video game energy use explained, South Dakota Energy Smart, 2007, http://www.sdenergysmart.com/Rotatorvideogame.aspx
Barry Fischer, The tradition continues: the United States wastes more energy than it uses, Outlier, August 2013,
http://blog.opower.com/2013/08/the-tradition-continues-the-united-states-wastes-more-energy-than-it-uses/
Pierre Delforge and Noah Horowitz, The Latest-Generation Video Game Consoles: How Much Energy Do They Waste
When Youre Not Playing?, NRDC Issue Paper, May 2014, http://www.nrdc.org/energy/game-consoles/files/videogame-consoles-IP.pdf
Ibid
Pierre Delforge and Noah Horowitz, The Latest-Generation Video Game Consoles: How Much Energy Do They Waste
When Youre Not Playing?, NRDC Issue Paper, May 2014, http://www.nrdc.org/energy/game-consoles/files/videogame-consoles-IP.pdf
Noah Horowitz, Lowering the Cost of Play, NRDC Issue Paper, November 2008,
http://www.nrdc.org/energy/consoles/files/consoles.pdf.

Pierre Delforge and Noah Horowitz, The Latest-Generation Video Game Consoles: How Much Energy Do They Waste
When Youre Not Playing?, NRDC Issue Paper, May 2014, http://www.nrdc.org/energy/game-consoles/files/videogame-consoles-IP.pdf
Noah Horowitz, Lowering the Cost of Play, NRDC Issue Paper, November 2008,
http://www.nrdc.org/energy/consoles/files/consoles.pdf .
Video game energy use explained, South Dakota Energy Smart, 2007, http://www.sdenergysmart.com/Rotatorvideogame.aspx

Colin Campbell, Why today's consoles are terrible for the environment, but tomorrow's will be so much better,
Polygon, October 2013, http://www.polygon.com/2013/10/3/4767660/games-consoles-are-bad-for-the-environmentbut-they-are-improving
Saqib Rahim, Video Gamers Use as Much Energy as San Diego, Scientific American, December 2010,
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/video-gamers-use-as-much-energy-as-san-diego/
Andrew Breiner, New Video Game Consoles Waste More Energy, Even When Youre Not Playing, Climate Progress,
May 2014, http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/05/16/3438696/video-game-efficiency/
Matthew Wald, Game Consoles Are Using More Electricity Than Ever, The New York Times, December 2014,
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/16/game-consoles-are-using-more-electricity-than-ever/
Video Game Consoles: Energy Efficiency Options, Energy Consult, July 2012, http://www.energyrating.gov.au/wpcontent/uploads/Energy_Rating_Documents/Library/Home_Entertainment/Video_Games_Consoles/FINAL-VGCEfficiency-Options-with-Industry-mods-V2-2.pdf
Larry Frum, Next-generation video game consoles: Which should you buy?, CNN, November 2013,
http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/27/tech/gaming-gadgets/compare-xbox-one-playstation-4-wii-u/
Stephen Totilo, Consoles Moving Into Next Generation, The New York Times, May 2013,
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/27/arts/video-games/xbox-nintendo-and-playstation-look-to-next-generation-ofconsoles.html?_r=0
Strong Demand For Next-Gen Consoles, Growth In Tech Brands Drive GameStop's 2014 Fiscal Revenue, Forbes,
March 2015, http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2015/03/30/strong-demand-for-next-gen-consolesgrowth-in-tech-brands-drive-gamestops-2014-fiscal-revenue/
PS4 vs. Xbox One vs. Wii U Comparison Chart, IGN, December 2014, http://www.ign.com/wikis/xboxone/PS4_vs._Xbox_One_vs._Wii_U_Comparison_Chart
Matt Swider, PS4 vs Xbox One: which is better?, Tech Radar, March 2015,
http://www.techradar.com/us/news/gaming/consoles/ps4-vs-xbox-720-which-is-better-1127315
James Crompton, Not Just a Game: New Consoles Shift the Video Games Industrys Focus, IBIS World, December
2013, http://media.ibisworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Entertaining-the-Masses.pdf
Paul Karaffa, EPA Cover Letter, EPA, March 2013,
http://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/specs//GameConsole_FinalVersion_CoverLetter_3_5_2013.pdf
Pierre Delforge, California Moving Forward on 15 New Appliance Efficiency Standards, NRDC, March 2014,
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/pdelforge/california_moving_forward_on_1.html

Barry Fischer, The tradition continues: the United States wastes more energy than it uses, Outlier, August 2013,
http://blog.opower.com/2013/08/the-tradition-continues-the-united-states-wastes-more-energy-than-it-uses/