A Playstation 5 consumes 153 kWh per year with an average usage time of 2 hours per day, whereas a Playstation 1 uses just 5.84 kWh, not even taking into account the consumption of the TV or monitor. In contrast to numerous other technical products such as washing machines or refrigerators, electricity consumption in the gaming segment is increasing considerably, as shown in a new infographic by Block-Builders.net.
Increased consumption aside, 4 in 5 German gaming companies claim that the issue of environmental and climate protection is important to them. 76% of the companies mentioned are engaged directly, be it through energy and heating saving measures or the use of green electricity.
A look at the CO2 emissions caused demonstrates the relevance of the topic. In the USA alone, the emissions resulting from gaming are roughly equivalent to those from 5 million cars – yet there is a considerable market for gaming beyond the United States of America. As the infographic shows, 2.95 billion people around the world played digital games last year.
Gaming Shares
Although the gaming industry has been able to post strong growth figures, not least in the wake of the Corona crisis, there have recently been sectors on the stock exchange floor with significantly larger gains. Nevertheless, the VanHeck Gaming ETF rose by 3.9% over the last year, while the DAX and Dow Jones rose by 17.6% and 20.8% respectively.
Questions of sustainability, however, are likely to have played a subordinate role at best in game developers’ share price development. While power consumption from bitcoin mining, for example, has often attracted strong criticism, consoles’ energy use remains a marginal issue in public and media discourse.
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