© NintendoIf you’re looking for a new game console that will cost nothing to run on Earth, it looks like a new Nintendo Switch might be your best bet
According to new research by NerdWallet, the Switch has been declared the most environmentally friendly system of the current generation of consoles. According to the study data, which was collected between 2 December 2020 and 4 January 2021 using a variety of tools and websites, the Nintendo Switch will cost the average user £ 101.43 in energy bills over its lifetime , compared to £ 165.77 for the PS5, and £ 200.24 for the Xbox Series X | S.
You can see these lifetime energy values, as well as those for slightly older consoles, in the full table below. For the purpose of the study, ‘life’ is “defined as the expected time that a person maintains and uses their console before upgrading to a new model … based on the assumption that a person buys a new console about a year ago after a new model was launched. “
| Playstation 3 | Xbox 360 | Nintendo Wii |
| £ 162.23 | £ 182.60 | £ 83.33 |
| Playstation 4 | Xbox one | Nintendo Wii U |
| £ 206.92 | £ 257.11 | £ 28.75 |
| Playstation 5 | Xbox Series S / X | Nintendo Switch |
| £ 165.77 | £ 200.24 | £ 101.43 |
The study also looked at how much a console would cost the average user over its lifetime, adding factors such as the initial price of the console, any online subscriptions, various games for the average retail price and common accessories like a controller and headset. Nintendo consoles were the cheapest in all categories:
|
Rating (most expensive to lowest) |
Console | Lifetime cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | PlayStation 5 (disc) | £ 1717.91 |
| two | Xbox Series X (disc) | £ 1645.51 |
| 3 | PlayStation 5 (digital) | £ 1,627.91 |
| 4 | Xbox one | £ 1,493.48 |
| 5 | Xbox Series S (digital) | £ 1,445.51 |
| 6 | Playstation 4 | £ 1,374.51 |
| 7 | Playstation 3 | £ 1,258.58 |
| 8 | Xbox 360 | £ 1,218.27 |
| 9 | Nintendo Switch | £ 880.05 |
| 10 | Nintendo Wii U | £ 720.37 |
| 11 | Nintendo Wii | £ 646.24 |
Do you take into account the energy cost of a console when choosing a new model? Have you ever thought how much a system and all the games you have purchased can cost in the long run?
We are afraid to think about how much we collectively spend on new games over the years …