Study Suggests Nintendo Switch Is The Most Eco-Friendly Console On The Market

The economy, WOO HOO

Only reason the WiiU used so little power is that no one ever played it

Kidding the handheld design helped a lot.

I've never worried about running costs with my consoles (or I wouldn't leave them all set up to instant on mode).
The switch has definitely been the most expensive in terms of software, games are hardly ever discounted and are usually more expensive on release - and I had to buy a second console just so the Mrs could have her own island in AC

@MorganWhoop I LOVE THE ECONOMY WHOOOOOOOOOOO

Replacing the controllers every 2 months can’t be very environmentally efficient!

Eh, Switch has definitely been worth it to me, got me through the worst of the pandemic and it's just a great console (although I would like some more original games)

"GOD I WANNA F*** THE ECONOMY"

That £28 Wii U lifetime energy figure definitely feels like a dig.

@RadioHedgeFund

😴😴😴

I don’t use an adblocker to show some support for NL. But a huge ad in the middle of a table is just obnoxious...

@RadioHedgeFund I dunno. That's if you really manage to break them
A: within two months.
and
B: actually throw the whole controller to the trash instead of replacing the tiny joystick you could get two of for only 12$(complete with repair tools) online, in the case of joycons. When mine ran out of warranty that's what I ended up doing and was surprised by how easy it was(no soldering required for one, which technically make it even easier than replacing a gamepad pro's joystick)

Beside you're talking as if it was a problem exclusive to Nintendo when the PS5 is already getting people talking of drifting controllers which perhaps show an issue less of any specific console maker(that issue has been heard of on Xbox One controllers as well, which use very similar joysticks to not literally say they're more or less built the same internally) than it is of them somehow drawing all from the same parts supplier.

Hmm... Yes, when I moved from PS3SS to PS4P my energy bill went up like 50€ per 3 months. Guess the energy bill will chill now that I have replaced the PS4P with a Switch haha...
Sure, first party games on Switch are not in a price range I'm used to... They're 60€. On PlayStation I bought everything aside TRAILS games for 20€ or less. But I already noticed that Nintendo has great deals on third party games on the eShop. I can live with that...
Kinda sad that I don't have money left to spend on games this month. Well... If I'm lucky someone is coming today buying my PS4P.

“Several games” 😂😂😂 my backlog is several dozen, at least

Thinking about how much time or power gaming uses always makes me feel uneasy.

But at least I'm killing the planet less than someone with a PS5 or Series X? That's something

The scottless economy is really killing us here! If scott just played RPG's, Nintendo's sales would be through the roof!

When choosing a console, game library is my concern. It's never been energy consumption. Granted, de-carbonizing is something we need to do.

As mentioned above, my replacing 3 pro controllers because of analog stick failure isn't very eco friendly. Replacing sticks needs to be more user friendly.

Even though I have some environmental education, I still want to boo nerdwallet for that story.😁 Game console consumption seems trivial compared to other much larger polluters. I give NL & craddock a pass though<3

Cheap joysticks too 😒

Maybe I’m reading this wrong but how can this be the most “ eco-friendly system of the current generation of consoles. ”

When you have to replace the joycons all the time and almost all the games are more expensive and even remake, remasters and complete editions are priced at full price like Zelda SS or even worse Pokémon SwSw at 90 not to mention that you are forced to pay online to save your saves in case of emergency and yet that doesn’t even work for the most important games and doesn’t even have basic features and you only get old games

@WoomyNNYes But the article says they also take into account more than that

“The study also looked at how much a console would cost the average user throughout its lifetime, adding up factors like the console's initial price, any online subscriptions, several games at the average retail price, and common accessories like a controller and headset.”

@GKO900 Exactly. I see NEW big PlayStation games eventually hit $15, such as Bloodborne, Dark Souls, Horizon Zero Dawn. That’s usually after a year or so. Mario Odyssey has been out since console launch. It’s still $50-$60, depending on which shop you use. Nintendo first party titles rarely go as low as Sony or Microsoft ones, so I’m not sure the sleuths behind the article collected all the right information.

NINJA APPROVED

I assume they're buying full-priced games day 1 (which have gone up to $70 recently for the new generation) and buying all the services (Nintendo's the cheapest, but also does the least). That plus the energy bills makes them the cheapest? Not really a fair comparison, though.

A lot of people playing this in the bathroom. Did they consider cleaning product to occasionally disinfect the Switch?

I think they forgot that the Joy Cons are really disposable

@GKO900 Ah, forgive me. I recklessly skimmed it like a idiot.

Yeah, that secondary set of data for lifetime costs seems flawed to me.

@BloodNinja Yeah I mean Nintendo games are great but I don’t think they are worth the asking price when you can get games like God of war for 20 or sometimes 15 and my point is that you could get 4 to 5 great games not trash anywhere else for the price of one single Nintendo game and with PSplus every month you get at least one decent game this month we got Control and the same goes for Xbox

I've got almost 50 physical switch games so I've spent a fair few quid on them. Not too fussed about saving a tenner on the leccy tbh.

@GKO900 They claim it’s due to their games quality. I would argue that God of War is better than Mario Odyssey, by a long shot. Even if you just look at it from a production standpoint, it’s presentation is leagues above Mario.

Part of the problem is how some people impulse buy Mario games no matter what. Nintendo doesn’t have to lower the price because they expect their failing reputation to do all the work.

NINJA APPROVED

@BloodNinja I definitely agree but careful saying that in this site, some people here get offended very easily

@Juga I mean if someone is big about environmental damage, they shouldn't be using anything else than a small fridge to live.

How is it eco friendly if I am throwing out Drift Cons every year?

@hakjie11 Try replacing just the sticks.

The Foxconn employees making Switches are treated slightly better than the Foxconn employees making PS5s and Xboxes

This study is just wrong... Why not take into account the power used by TV ? Because when you use the switch in handled mode, you do not use a TV --> less power use --> less money use --> better for the environment. So it must be way cheaper for switch than those numbers...

@GKO900 Oh, I've been there. My ninja dodging skills are ready LOL

NINJA APPROVED

Does that take into account joy con failure and battery replacement?

Cost of ownership is false as Switch games are almost always full price.

So many things wrong with this article...

How many times do people change their joy-cons? Have you thought about that? And it's not only about the drift issue, more about how they were built in the first place (bluetooth connectivity ect.) which can make it very difficult to repair.
So when you're stuck with getting a new pair and having to pay more than a ps4 or xbox controller that perform and feel way better than what nintendo has to offer (unless you pay premium about the pro controller that, again...is way overpriced.

And there's game prices as well...it's just too much.

I love games in general but in my case, I've spent much more for what it's worth on the switch than any other platform...and still feel unsatisfied.

@BloodNinja @GKO900 Not offended, I assure you.

I just think gaming is a luxury. One shouldn't game if they can't afford it. As simple as that.

If a game costs more than 10 hours of what you earn working, I think you should change priorities.

Gaming is a really big industry nowadays. And it's getting to the point where you should discount your game for ridiculous prices (less than $20) or else people will get something cheaper. Games for less than $1 everywhere. I guess mobile gaming really hit this since most games are "free" to play, and people has gotten used to that.

As a developer, I think it's sad to hear people say your work should be "cheaper" after some time because it's old. I'd like to see collectors running this same way of thinking so they could sell their pristine saved GB or NES Cartridges with box and instructions manuals for like 1 or 2 cents.

@Olmectron Right, because there is just that issue with the joy-cons...

Not only is it the most economic, but by now it's probably the most stable thing on the planet!

The Nintendo Switch. Economic stability. Just £279.99

@ShizuoDai1 The most public and common issue, yeah.

I've changed sticks at least 3 times in two years. Never had any other problem than that.

And while it's anecdotal, I'm pretty sure since I see people suing Nintendo for joy-con drifting, not for Bluetooth conectivity.

Bad for those with batteries and bluetooth issues. But they are a minority.

Also, I was answering someone who called them "Dift Cons", hence, what I said about just replacing the sticks applies.

In terms of power consumption it's pretty obvious the Switch will use less but who on Earth did the study on overall cost? I'd probably put the Switch at the top in those terms. Look at Switch games and they never go down in price, BOTW is still £60 where as Horizon Zero Dawn which launched at the same time is under £20, or compare the likes of Doom or The Witcher 3.

How can Series S be £600 more? That's just nonsense, the console is £30 cheaper for a start and you could simply just run Gamepass and never buy any games. I got the Switch at launch and I'm fairly convinced I've spent a lot more money on that then Playstation

@Olmectron If you're a developer, then I'm sure you understand how gaming, as an industry works. These aren't my personal ideas. It's how things have been going for decades. Launch titles tend to be more expensive than when they have been sitting on the shelf for 3 years. That's a supply and demand thing, again, not my personal idea so arguing with me about it is moot.

Collectors prices are based on number of units in existence, and what the collector is willing to pay. Less units, more rarity. It's not simply age. You can still get Solar Jetman on the NES for a few bucks because it's not rare. Meanwhile, Hyper Duel on the Saturn had less copies produced, so it's hundreds on eBay.

NINJA APPROVED

@BloodNinja Good points you got there. Can't say anything else.

@Olmectron Well, you bring up a good point, as well. I'm actually learning C++, and will be learning game development when I know enough. So it makes sense that as a dev, it would be concerning that the market doesn't hold value unless it says "Mario," on the label.

NINJA APPROVED

@Olmectron Fair enough point.

On that note, those more minor issues are still greater that it's competitors.
In my case i had only odd issues with the joy-cons that made it hard to guess the problem, let alone fix it.

It's just sad that it's a normal thing to change controllers this often ( of course, considering that you're using them in a proper manner ).

@Olmectron I don’t think gaming is or should be a luxury the only expensive console is Nintendo the rest of gaming its pretty affordable to anyone and honestly if I see a game that I care I will only buy it if it’s worth the value (Monster Hunter Rise) otherwise I will not get it at all or get it used and the developer will get nothing from me (Pokémon), that’s the industry they created and I think developers know that that’s why they price their games not low but not high enough to scare people they rather get something than nothing at all because they also know their games have no big name (Mario,Zelda or God of War) and not a ton of content or quality either

The environmental cost of all consoles is pretty interesting too. No one comes out looking good in that regard.

The least powerful console using the least power is hardly surprising. Not really a like for like comparison either given its basically a handheld for some folk.

@Poodlestargenerica Depending on where you live. They don't fix it for free in countries below USA.

I do know one thing. Switch has a lot more mature games than any other Nintendo console l known of. Which is good for those who want more than just friendly games.

Trust me, as someone who cares about energy consumption AND pays bills, I've definitely noticed. I really appreciate the fact that it can be taken portably and save crazy amounts of energy.

To measure how eco-friendly (& human-friendly) a console is, surely you would need to take into account how and where minerals that make up components are mined?

That total cost breakdown is funny considering all this talk about Nintendo being "greedy" while acting like Sony isn't. 🙃

its the most eco-friendly cause there are not many physical releases

I guarantee you i spent more money on the 6-7 switch games and pro controller i have than the 16 ish games i got on sale on ps4 recently

It's all rather academic as people refuse to stop breeding.

Electricity Usage of Game Consoles (in Watt)

PS5 50-220*
Xbox Series X 45-220*
Xbox Series S 25-100
Nintendo Switch 10-18
PS4 Pro. 75-160*
PS4 Slim 55-110
PS4 90-150
Xbox One X 65-180*
Xbox One S 35-90
Xbox One 70-120
Wii U 35
PS3 Slim 85
PS3 Original 190
Xbox 360 S 90
Xbox 360 Original 180
Wii. 40
Playstation Classic 2.3-2.5
NES Classic Edition 2.3-2.5
SNES Classic Edition 2.3-2.5

It feels like it's biodegrading in my hands.

I'm kinda suprised the power consumption was projected to be only 65 quid less than a PS5. I mean, the Switch is running off a mobile chipset from years ago and the PS5 is essentially a midspec gaming PC rig. If anything, props to Sony here.

oh wow, another win for switch i guess

@Rambler this.

Mumble mumble..... Joycon something...... Mumble mumble......

@BloodNinja @GKO900 Nintendo games never going down in price is 50% Nintendo stubbornness and 50% supply and demand. If I look at the Top 20 best selling games in December for my region I see two PS-exclusives (Miles Morales at 13 and Last of Us 2 at 20) and 10(!) Nintendo exclusives. Half of them are over one year old, Mario Kart is on 2, Breath of the Wild on 16 and Odyssey on 19, despite selling for full price and beeing almost four years old. The rest are recently released multi platform games like AC Valhalla, Call of Duty and Cyberpunk.

That's the difference. Your typical AAA game sells really well for two or three months and then sales drop significantly and they go down in price. Nintendo games on the other hand keep selling well for months and years. Reducing the price would probably not significantly increase sales.

Man, I remember when the Wii U was originally out, and that low energy usage was touted as one of the design features. I can't remember the exact wording, but the concept was that the Wii U would be the go-to "always on" entertainment box for your living room. Games, streaming, plus your regular TV remote, all in one thing that hardly used any power. Course that also meant that it wasn't running powerful hardware. Mine is still hooked up, primarily as a Xenoblade X box.

PORT IT.

@Judal27 I'm always sort of curious what software Sony puts out that's on par with major Zelda or Mario releases. Nintendo games hold their value for years (sometimes decades) after release, so why would Nintendo devalue their primary product? They usually produce hardware for different budgets, but a Mario game will always be a Mario game. There's a reason people still talk about Breath of the Wild but don't talk about (looks up Sony equivalent) Horizon: Zero Dawn nearly as much. Sony puts out the equivalent of popcorn films that everyone can consume and then forget about as soon as the next thing comes along, whereas Nintendo puts out classics that are revisited well beyond the life of the console generation. Remember the last time the Twisted Metal or Armored Core franchises dominated the conversation? Neither do I. But during that same time period Nintendo put out Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, GoldenEye and Smash Bros. I wouldn't put my games on sale either, if my games were worth the price of admission.

You mean 'Least damaging', surely...

I do take energy into consideration. Nintendo consoles have always had less power consumption and I bought the ps4 slim for this reason.