The environmental company launches "Clash of the Consoles" website.
The "Greenpeace vs. the video game industry" saga grows nastier by the day. Greenpeace recently launched a "Clash of the Consoles" site that pastes the Big 3's mascots next to bar graphs that account for: toxic use, toxic policy, recycling credits, and energy use. Their clip-art Mario, with his satanic gleam, stares down Nintendo's ratings: red and more red across the board. But the Wii wins big with its low energy use of 15 Watts. Microsoft apparently has a toxic policy, but doesn't follow it with the Xbox 360 running at 97 W. It seems Sony has the same policy but also recycles while the PS3 console runs at 128 W. Noble but misguided, Greenpeace is not ranking these companies' practices. Instead it becomes a test of the companies' willingness to comply with the requests and demands of the environmental company.
Here's what Greenpeace had to say, officially:
Mario might be super but he's no hero when it comes to avoiding toxic chemicals. He gets zero recycling credits.
At least Mario uses small amount of energy, as long as you don't leave him running all day long!
Comparison: Mario is on a different level when it comes to energy efficiency, with use that matches his diminutive size.
Greenpeace released its quarterly "Guide to Greener Electronics" in late November. It was a surprise hit to the video game industry and Nintendo especially – with the company's earth-shattering, history-making score of zero. But that was just the beginning.
Almost immediately, Ars Technica, the technocrat watchdog, faulted Greenpeace for "flawed" and "lazy" research. They uncovered that Greenpeace made their ratings on information from press materials and not through serious investigation into company practices.
Nintendo UK commented first and was surprised. They stated: "We do not know the basis or methodology used by Greenpeace to produce this report, and therefore cannot comment on it." Greenpeace was quick to counter and released the following: out of the 18 companies rated, Nintendo was the only one not to respond. Greenpeace added: "We hope this [score] is the impetus for Nintendo to be more transparent, progressive and proactive in addressing the problems of toxic chemicals and e-waste."
What next in the saga? It's anyone's guess.
