Gaming is a relatively green pursuit. In years gone by, dominated by physical sales, the manufacturing costs would of course have been high, but very few games made it to landfill. Why? Because of the trade-in culture.
Now the physical and logistical costs of gaming have been cut dramatically by the advent of the digital download. There will of course have been an increase in the carbon emissions of the vast server farms required to power the online revolution, but that will have been offset by the reduction in manufacturing and logistical costs.
And then there’s Rock Band, and of course the Yin to its Yang, Guitar Hero. There are very few games you need to own a whacking great plastic peripheral (or three) to be able to enjoy properly and where there’s plastic, there’s waste. Your giant plastic guitars can’t be recycled with the tin cans and bottles; they’re going straight to landfill.
When Rock Band 4 was announced for pre-order though, there was only the option to buy it with a guitar peripheral, or the full-on ‘band in a box’ package which includes a guitar, microphone and plastic drum-kit. People were rightfully concerned they would be buying new peripherals, to only have to throw away their old ones.
Then Harmonix/Mad Catz announced the Rock Band 4 game-only edition and all was right with the world. In a fashion.
If you buy the Rock Band 4 game-only edition for PS4, it works out of the box with your existing Rock Band peripherals. Great stuff!
If however you buy the Xbox one Rock Band 4 game-only edition, it’s going to cost you 20% more. Why? Because the old peripherals aren’t compatible with the Xbox One, and the corresponding Rock Band 4 game-only edition also includes a peripheral adapter included in the box.
Still, it’s better than having to re-buy all the peripherals.
