A Crossover to Help the Planet
Both Sony and Microsoft have made announcements that they are planning to make environmentally friendly consoles. Microsoft said they’re working on a carbon-neutral game console. Similarity Sony announced that the PlayStation 5 will be more energy efficient.
Microsoft, Sony, and 19 other companies have partnered with Playing For The Planet. Playing for the Planet’s objective is to battle climate change by making the video game industry more environmentally friendly.
Microsoft has been working toward carbon neutrality since 2012. Microsoft will continue its work by cutting down its supply chain emissions by 30% by 2030. They’re also planning to have 825,000 Xbox consoles certified as carbon neutral. Mircosoft hasn’t said which version of Xbox they are planning to use yet.
Gamers Helping the Environment
Microsoft also has been using Minecraft to help the environment. Minecraft Build a Better World campaign began in 2018. After Minecraft’s Update Aquatic, Mojang teamed with The Nature Conservancy to help the growth of coral. The initiative was to install six BioRock structures off the coast of Cozumel. The structures are designed to help coral grow five times faster than the normal rate. Three of the structures were designed by users in Minecraft. Microsoft said they’re planning to do more through the Minecraft Build a Better World campaign.
Sony is planning to make the PlayStation 5, with a power-saving mode. The mode can suspend a game, saving a lot more power than the PlayStation 4 did. Sony said they’re planning to make the energy-efficiency powerful. The mode would save the energy of 1000 houses in the United States if enabled by 1000,000 million users. They are also looking into making more gaming content geared towards the environment. They are planning to release a report on their carbon footprint in an effort to inspire the gaming community.
Some Oddities
The one company missing from this massive collaboration to save the planet is Nintendo. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo have teamed up in the past for a variety of initiatives. The companies have worked together for cross-play functionality, and to regulate loot boxes. Therefore, it is odd not seeing them being part of an intuitive that can save the planet.
Another oddity is Sony, not making the power saving mode mandatory. If the goal is to save the environment something like that shouldn’t be optional. A lot of consumers might be mildly inconvenienced by the power-saving mode. However, that seems minuscule in the grand scheme of things.
Let us know other ways you’d like to see gaming help the planet!
