Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
‘Xbox, On’ And PS4 Standby Could Cost Americans $400 Million Annually
A new study from the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental action nonprofit group, claims that new-generation consoles will cost Americans $1 billion per year (assuming a complete replacement of the 110 million consoles in American homes with new hardware). Of that sum, the organization claims that $400 million will be spent in connected standby modes.
The organization has also tested power usage during more generalized tasks like video streaming. New gaming hardware consumes 30 to 45 times the amount of power when streaming a 1080p movie as compared to devices like Apple TV and Google Chromecast.
As you might expect, running your television through the Xbox One to use the OneGuide features increases the power consumption of the activity. Configuring your setup in such a way increases the annual power consumption of the console from 210 kW hours per year to 289 kW hours per year. This includes Kinect usage, which will be less of a factor beginning in June.
On the plus side, Microsoft and Sony have improved the power scaling (the way the console adapts to power needs for different activities) in their new hardware. On the chart below, you’ll see that navigation power usage is lower on the Xbox One at launch than the first Xbox 360 units. The same is true for Sony.
Click to enlarge.
The Wii U uses the least power of the three current consoles, and Nintendo has drastically improved standby power consumption. However, the company has promised an update to significantly improve boot times, which may have an impact on standby usage.
If you are interested in reducing your power consumption, the NRDC recommends disabling connected standby mode (no more “Xbox, On” or rapid PS4 boot cycles), turning on energy saving modes that automatically power the system down after a prescribed period of inactivity, and running your set-top box directly to your television. You can read the entire report on the Natural Resources Defense Council website.
[Source: Natural Resources Defense Council]
Our Take
To the credit of some of our commenters, I recall seeing many suggesting that they would not run their set-top box through the Xbox One for just this reason. The issue right now is that booting up from a fully powered down state takes a long time on both the Xbox One and PS4.
If Microsoft and Sony were to improve the cold boot times, turning the systems off would become more attractive to gamers. Additionally, hardware revisions have traditionally helped with power consumption. Making this a priority for the inevitable Xbox One Slim and PS4 Slim would got a long way to helping with power bills.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
