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All of SEGA Europe’s future physical releases of PC games will use recyclable boxes instead of plastic boxes (via Kotaku).
We're pleased to announce that all of our future physical releases of PC games will be launched in fully recycled packaging!
Total War: ROME II – Enemy at the Gates Edition from Creative Assembly signals our intent to continue with this environmental initiative. pic.twitter.com/SlPcUCikn3
— SEGA Europe (@SEGA_Europe) January 30, 2020
We're pleased to announce that all of our future physical releases of PC games will be launched in fully recycled packaging!” announced the company yesterday. “Total War: ROME II – Enemy at the Gates Edition from Creative Assembly signals our intent to continue with this environmental initiative.” Vegetable and water-based inks form the artwork for the boxes, and the materials are also fully recyclable, including the shrink-wrap around the boxes. SEGA tried out the approach with Football Manager 2020, with Sports Interactive studio director Miles Jacobson praising the move.
“It still looks great. It's still solid. The disc is still secure. But it has less environmental impact in many different ways. So we'd be stupid not to do it, and if anyone from other games or entertainment companies is reading this, you'd be stupid not to do it too,” said Jacobson in an interview last year. Though the recyclable materials are technically costlier than plastic packaging, the increase in price is not transferred to the consumer, and shipping expenses will decrease due to the lighter weight of the new boxes.
In September 2019, over twenty video game companies committed to the United Nations’ Playing for the Planet initiative. “Video gaming might seem like an unlikely ally in this battle, but this Alliance is a critical platform where all of us can play our part to decarbonise our impact and bring the issues into gameplay,” said CEO of Sybo, Mathias Gredal Norvig. “I am a strong believer in sparking curiosity and conversations wherever people are, and with 2 billion people playing games, this platform has a reach that’s second to none.” Sony has implemented an energy-saving mode for the PlayStation 5 that “would save equivalent to the average electricity use of 1,000 US homes” if one million players switched it on. And, Microsoft will cut its supply chain emissions by 30 per cent by 2030, and send out 825,000 carbon neutral Xbox consoles.
