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Is Xbox One really addressing the power issue?

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Xbox One power

I may be the only one, but I find navigating the Xbox One settings to be a strange, labyrinthine experience that helps me to understand the frustrations of an older generation. Nothing is where I expect it to be and I often end up opening things when I think I’m just hitting back. Even checking power savings can be tricky, but Xbox One has had a $250 million wake up call that it may be time to change that.

Both new consoles suck a ton of power down – way more than the older ones used to. We knew this would be the case; you can’t have a console that’s always kinda sorta online to get your updates and downloads without having power running through it. However, an updated study from the Natural Resources Defense Council found that the Xbox One was the biggest culprit – their senior scientist told Polygon that the Xbox One would be responsible for $250 million world of extra electricity every year. All that for “instant on”.

When setting up the console in the US, it used to always default to “Instant On” as compared to in the EU where it was required to default to energy saving. Now Xbox One claims to be putting the power back in gamer’s hands. Plus, they even go so far as saying that the average customer will save between $6-15 per year by changing their power options. They even cite changes to power saving that have already been put in place:

Since Xbox One launched, we’ve reduced the power consumed while in Instant-on by a third. At Microsoft, sustainability is core to our business practices—we continue to work to reduce the environmental impact of our products and services, and we are committed to carbon neutrality as a company.

So, setting up the Xbox One now shows off the various power modes, and users are encouraged to check their settings under Power & Start Up. I’m glad that Xbox is adding in this element – not everyone wants to have their Xbox One permanently on stand-by, especially with Eskom promising load shedding. Sure, it’s great to get all the updates without noticing so that you can just play when you turn on the console instead of watching a loading bar, but energy concerns affect everyone.

I’m also concerned by the calculations going on. Scientists say the Xbox One could cost the US an extra $250 million, but Xbox is saying it’s about $6-15 per person. Those numbers just don’t add up. Even if we took the highest number ($15), that would be 16 666 666 Xbox Ones in the US of A. We know that there aren’t that many sold worldwide, even. So, whose numbers are off, and by how much?

Last Updated: April 13, 2015

15 Comments

  1. Blood Emperor Trevor

    April 13, 2015 at 13:05

    Just think how much power they saved by flicking the switch.

    Reply

    • Jaded_Reprobate

      April 13, 2015 at 13:11

      said eskom?

      Reply

    • Pariah

      April 13, 2015 at 13:11

      They had to. The lights went out before they did, so they needed to try turning them back on.

      Reply

    • RinceThis

      April 13, 2015 at 13:34

      Ouch!

      Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      April 13, 2015 at 14:13

      If they’d just stop the savings would be tremendous.

      Reply

  2. MakeItLegal

    April 13, 2015 at 13:11

    well , its a real concern , polar caps are melting

    Reply

  3. Admiral Chief asked for this

    April 13, 2015 at 13:27

    Did Geoff do the math?

    Reply

  4. chimera_85

    April 13, 2015 at 13:32

    Hahaha so much power for a VHS machine

    Reply

  5. RinceThis

    April 13, 2015 at 13:34

    Think how many jackets you could buy with all that money!

    Reply

  6. Hammersteyn

    April 13, 2015 at 14:12

    The message on TV should flash “turn off your geyser, pool pump, unused lights and XBOX Ones” Come now bots. Take one for the Eskom 😛

    Reply

  7. ultra

    April 13, 2015 at 14:31

    DBK productions had a cool discussion about this on their breakfast show today. DBK radio, for gamers by gamers.

    http://dbkproductions.ndstream.net/pc.htm

    That’s the link for the stream.

    Reply

  8. Pieter Kruger

    April 13, 2015 at 14:33

    How much does PC’s use? ????. Anyway, this power saving option has been there from the start! Anyway, buying digital and with Telkom speeds, isn’t it cheaper to download in standby mode than to have the whole console powered on for 5 days just to get the new Mortal Combat X?

    Reply

  9. Scorpion V SubZero

    April 13, 2015 at 15:00

    Xbox aint got nothing on https://youtu.be/EAwWPadFsOA

    Reply

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