By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
SvennoJ on 11 June 2026
Edit Thread
CaptainExplosion said:
Cerebralbore101 said:

AI data centers and regular data centers are not the same. We had regular data centers in 2012. Not to mention that regular data centers are not needed to play single-player games. Also, the impact that individual consumers have on the environment is negligible. You might as well be yelling at him about his "Carbon Footprint". https://interestingengineering.com/culture/carbon-footprint-coined-by-big-oil-to-blame-you-for-climate-change Stop trying to blame individual consumers like him when giant corporations are the real problem. 

^This. I try to make compromises, like carpooling, composting, reusing certain things instead of throwing them away, and helping animals in my area. Nobody's a perfect environmentalist.

Gaming is still one of the most environmentally friendly pass times. The biggest factor is, you're not traveling to game. Going for a walk/hike is only 'better' if you start from your house. As soon as you drive / travel somewhere, it's worse than gaming...

As others have said, the electricity used for gaming is tiny, and if you game on Switch or a laptop, it's even less than watching TV. There are very few hobbies that produce less waste than gaming. 

Food, mobility, housing, consumer products all come before electricity used for leisure. 

Who uses most electricity: The industrial sector is the single largest consumer of electricity, accounting for roughly 42% of total consumption, while households (residential) account for about 27%, Commercial and public services consume 21%. (2019 figures)

So yeah you can make compromises, yet before blaming gaming, buy local food, produce less food waste, travel less, keep the house a bit warmer in summer / colder in winter, combine laundry, shorter showers, buy less stuff.

Gaming is the lowest polluter, yet AI data centers already make up a huge chunk of pollution.

Due to the AI boom, some forecasts (like from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) suggest data centers could demand up to 12% of all US electricity by 2028.

12%! While gaming now is about 2-5% (use of electricity for gaming in the house) of 60% (households with consoles) of 27% (households use of electricity) = 0.32% - 0.81%. Stopping AI data centers is over 30x more effective than eliminating gaming...