There's a steadily growing consumer demand for more environmentally-friendly electronics that reduce power consumption, curb the use of dangerous materials (such as lead in solder and CRTs) and other "green" initiatives. Combined with the juggernaut that is the video game market, it's no surprise that many environmentalists and industry analysts are now turning their attention to the impact these gaming systems have on the environment.
An in-depth report of the power consumption of each of big three consoles -- Sony's PlayStation 3, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii -- found that the smallest and least powerful of the consoles, Nintendo's surprise hit of the year, not surprisingly has the smallest carbon footprint, according to the San Jose Mercury .
In their investigation, the newspaper found that the diminutive Wii uses just 17 watts under the testing conditions, compared to a PS3's 171 watts and a 360 Elite's 194 watts. While the two latter were far higher than Nintendo's console, the systems employ vastly Superior CPUs and likewise more intensive cooling systems. Moreover, the systems still came in below the power usage of a 42-inch plasma TV (200 watts) and even a toaster (866 watts) also tested by the paper for comparison.
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