Details for the next generation of consoles are few and far between, and chances are we won’t get full on info for the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Scarlett – as it’s currently being called – won’t be revealed until next year’s E3, but Sony did let out a little nugget of information in their latest PlayStation Blog ahead of their State of Play event that will be going down tomorrow.
In the blog post, SIE President and CEO Jim Ryan revealed that Sony will be joining the UN’s Playing for the Planet alliance.
“At the UN Climate Summit, I will join leaders in the gaming industry to make formal commitments to contribute to the efforts of the UN Environment committee through a new partnership, the Playing for the Planet alliance. We believe that careful stewardship of natural resources is of utmost importance and are aligned with the mission and objectives of UN Environment” Jim Ryan wrote before explaining how the PS4 has already made steps to be a better gaming console for the environment.
Speaking on the PS5, Ryan explained that the upcoming console “will include the possibility to suspend gameplay with much lower power consumption than PS4 (which we estimate can be achieved at around 0.5 W). If just one million users enable this feature, it would save equivalent to the average electricity use of 1,000 US homes.”
Along with the improved energy usage of the PS5, Sony will conduct a carbon footprint assessment of their gaming services and will report on the energy efficiency measures they use at their data centers.
Sony is also working on ways to use PSVR applications to raise awareness of climate issues. They are also working with developers to include sustainability themes in games.
Sony isn’t the only company coming to the climate table. Microsoft, Google, Ubisoft and others have joined Playing of the Planet as well, pledging to do their part to combat the climate crisis by making changes in game design, energy management, packaging, and device recycling that will reduce CO2 emissions by 30 million tons.
Microsoft’s Phil Spencer spoke about the initiative, saying “Climate change is impacting each industry and every sector, and we believe technology can play a critical role in enabling and empowering the response to this challenge. Initiatives like our Minecraft Build a Better World Campaign and CarbonNeutral Xbox pilot provide a great opportunity to tap into Microsoft’s technology sustainability and gaming community to make a difference in this key area of our business.”
The UN’s Playing for the Planet initiative is looking to raise climate awareness among the 2.3 billion gamers around the world. Here’s hoping we can unlock the achievement (or trophy if you prefer) for saving the human race from ecological disaster!
Learn more about Playing for the Planet here
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