In Journal 7 I talked about the community in my dorm and how the pieces of technology like gaming consoles and virtual reality have had a positive effect on bringing the people in the community closer together. But what is the back story of these devices like how much did it cost to make them or what materials were used to produce them? I also want to delve into what happens when you throw away these pieces of tech.
Tech Footprints
1)Game Consoles
The first piece of tech that I wanted to keep in my community are game consoles and I want to look at the Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4 specifically. According to The Verge and Venturebeat, The PlayStation has sold over 100 million units worldwide along with the Switch selling a total of 36.87 million units.
Source “https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/gaming/797760/Nintendo-Switch-v-PS4-Sony-fires-back-and-shows-Nintendo-who-is-BOSS”
That is a lot of hardware sold, but the real question is how much is money is put into making these products and what materials are use to produce said hardware. According to RM@Schools the raw materials that are used in the PlayStation 4 are PCBs ( Plastic Circut Board), Magnets, and LCDs. That small list just scratching the surface because we have to take into account the components to make up those raw materials. For a more detailed look at the matter, you can find it HERE. When the console was launched was it cost a price of $400, but according to Engadget the piece of tech only cost $381 to make from a hardware tear down, so I don’t I know why the consumers had to pay the extra $19 even if it was a slight difference.
Moving on to the Nintendo Switch and when it came to finding raw materials used it was a bit troubling but from what it seems is that the materials used are fairly similar to the PlayStations except that the switch has 5124 mah battery. The picture below gives a good sense of what can be found in the system with the battery pack taking up 2/3’s of the whole console.
Source “https://www.fictiv.com/blog/posts/nintendo-switch-teardown”
What I really found irritating/interesting was that according to Gamerant the production cost of this console was a whopping $257 which is $43 dollars less than its retail price of $300. It irritates me in sense that I’m essentially paying an extra $40 for a product that was cheaper to make. It makes wonder if the company cares more about the profit than the satisfaction of the consumer.
2) Virtual Reality Headsets
The second piece of tech that I wanted to keep in the my community was virtual reality headsets because it is a fun piece of tech to show people and all sorts of fun with. The headset I want to look at is another PlayStation product which is the Playstation VR. it was rather hard to find the materials used in this piece of tech, but with a little bit of searching, I found that on ifixit.com the said there various types of plastics, PCBs, LEDs, Microcontrollers, Micro Chips.
Source “https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/PlayStation+VR+Teardown/69341”
When it came into the cost of production of this product I ran into a little bit of trouble again, but luckily I found a group discussion the website known as Reddit where they were comparing the cost to make the oculus rift and came to the conclusion that the parts inside the PSVR come down to $148 compared to the $300 asking price which is even more ridiculous. This piece of hardware could have easily been priced at $200 or $250 and that would make it seem more reasonable than the greedy retail price.
3) Waste
According to Sony Interactive Entertainment:
PS4
- Since PlayStation 4 launched in 2013 we’ve reduced its weight by 23% and the power it consumes by 43%(2).
- Where we can, we mark PlayStation 4 system plastic components so that different plastics can be easily identified during recycling(1).
- To save energy, your PlayStation 4 will automatically enter standby or sleep (network standby) mode after a period of inactivity.
- Our packaging is recyclable– contact your local authority to find out about recycling options in your area.
- Please ensure your PlayStation 4 system is recycled and disposed of correctly in accordance with any applicable local laws or requirements.
PSVR
- Where we can, we mark PlayStation VR system plastic components so that different plastics can be easily identified during recycling(1).
- We only use chlorine-free and bromine-free flame retardants in our PlayStation VR casing.
- Please ensure your PlayStation VR system is recycled and disposed of correctly in accordance with any applicable local laws or requirements.
And According to Nintendo.com:
Any Nintendo Product
- We offer a free and convenient Take Back Program for consumers and businesses that would like Nintendo to recycle their products for them. The Take Back Program uses a network of thousands of UPS locations across the country to ship the products at no cost to consumers. We even will recycle a competitor’s home console for consumers who have purchased a Nintendo system.
- We offer reasonably-priced and convenient repair options to maximize continued use of current Nintendo systems.
- We continue to offer repair support for Nintendo systems for years after retail sales have ended.
- We remanufacture or refurbish retailer and consumer returns and utilize them for repair and replacement programs, as well as for sales.
- We recycle close to 100 percent of the materials from any returned products or repair parts that cannot be re-used, and partner with a certified recycler to ensure responsible recycling practices*.
- In calendar year 2017, Nintendo of America processed 200 tons of returned products (U.S., Canada and Latin America) with a 99 percent recycle rate. Nintendo of America also reused almost two-thirds of returned products in their original form, which is the most environmentally friendly recycling option.
It is good to see that companies are aware of what needs to be done and where their products are going. Games consoles are something that is meant to have for quite a while until the next generation. I have had my ps4 for about 5-6 years and I will probably trade it in when the ps5 comes out next year. Also, an interesting fact is that PlayStation claims that the ps5 will consume less power than its predecessor helping the environment in the process which is great knowing how many people are going to buy this console.
Benefits and Drawbacks
I chose the community in my dorm and if more and more of these types of hardware are being produced and distributed in my community it would make it so everybody would have something to entertain themselves and their friends thus bringing the community closer together as a whole. That is the only benefit that comes to mind when it comes to a positive outlook on these pieces of tech, but I can think of a few negative ones.
First is that the more people that own these products will end up using more electricity and power thus creating more pollution in the air and increasing the cost to keep that electricity on. Another drawback is that it gives more people consoles and hardware that are going to be thrown out or traded in the next 6-7 years when the newest on the rage piece of tech gets released to the public, but if these companies like Sony and Nintendo claim that they recycle their products in good faith then hopefully it shouldn’t be a huge problem but whats to tell that they aren’t lying.
Decisions
I guess I think what should be done is that companies should be more open to what they use in their products and the cost they use to make said products because it was a bit troubling to find this type of information that wasn’t from tech teardown sites. Also, these companies should be more out there with their recycling policies because from what it felt like these sections were shoved all the way to the back of their websites so people couldn’t find them. If more people can see how they handle their waste then possibly people will think that they are buying a product from a reliable company and benefit more communities other than mine. I also feel like Communities like mine and many others should have more of a say when it comes to the pricing to these products because if they can be made incredibly cheap then we should be able to buy them at a more reasonable price because that gap in price between production cost and retail price of the Playstation VR is ridiculous.
Sources
https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/gaming/797760/Nintendo-Switch-v-PS4-Sony-fires-back-and-shows-Nintendo-who-is-BOSS
https://gamerant.com/nintendo-switch-production-cost/
https://www.fictiv.com/blog/posts/nintendo-switch-teardown
Click to access RawMaterials_PS4_ENG.pdf
https://www.engadget.com/2013/11/19/ps4-costs-381-to-make-according-to-hardware-teardown/
Nintendo Switch sales hit 36.87 million consoles, matching PS4’s lifetime pace
https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/30/20746712/sony-playstation-4-sales-100-million-milestone
https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/PlayStation+VR+Teardown/69341
https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/footer/about-us/playstation-and-the-environment/
https://www.nintendo.com/consumer/recycle.jsp
You must be logged in to post a comment.