Fox News has taken issue with the power-saving change Microsoft has introduced in the latest update for the Xbox Series X/S consoles. The specific change it is referring to has to do with Microsoft's latest initiative to make Xbox the first "carbon aware" console, which includes alterations to how the system manages its power consumption and content downloads to be as optimal as can be while reducing the overall carbon footprint.The network has a history of reporting on gaming in a negative light, including touting the claimed connection between video games and violence even though there are studies that suggest the contrary. If video games are brought up on Fox News, the best-case scenario for the coverage is often that it would be perplexing to watch.In a clip from the latest episode of Fox & Friends that Lis Power shared on Twitter, hosts Jimmy Failla and Ainsley Earhardt have commented on Microsoft's "carbon awareness" commitment for Xbox. They accused the tech giant of going "woke" and that the commitment is a ploy to recruit kids into climate activism while not actually reducing emissions. Earhardt compares this to gas stoves and coffee, citing Senator Ted Cruz's tweet lamenting the change. Failla laughs before making a connection to rebellion by stating how in the past, being a rebel involved getting a leather jacket and cigarettes. This is opposed to now, which Failla says is eating pizza rolls on a gas stove while keeping an Xbox turned on.
What makes this accusation funny is that while the clip makes it seem like this is a sudden turn for the tech giant, Microsoft has pledged to be environmentally conscious for years now, and this latest update reads as a minor change that makes Xbox less wasteful when it comes to energy consumption. This is simply part of a trend on behalf of the company to cut back on emissions in small but meaningful ways in households.
This is not to say there are no meaningful issues to report on. With the announcement that Microsoft is cutting 10,000 jobs, by the third quarter of the 2023 fiscal year, legitimate grievances can be taken with the company even if those employees are given severance pay. This includes the Xbox division, and if Fox News wants to highlight real issues in the gaming industry, that can be a point of discussion regarding how fickle job security can be.
Source: Pure Xbox