Buying games digitally is more harmful to the environment than buying physical retail copies, a new study suggests.

The study was conducted by INSEAD - an international business graduate program - in 2010 and published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology on September 1, 2014. The data suggests that digital downloads have a larger carbon footprint than purchasing the Blu-Ray copy. Researchers measured the electrical intensity produced by a PS3 console while downloading a game, compared to the emissions from a Blu-Ray copy. The data shows that downloading a PS3 game, even with the TV turned off, created 21.9 kg to 27.5 kg of carbon dioxide, while a Blu-Ray disk - including its manufacturing, distribution and the travel time of the end consumer to the store - created only 20.8 kg of carbon dioxide. The exception was if a game had 1.3gb of data or less, in which case things swung back in favor of digital downloads.

Currently, gamers choose to purchase Blu-Ray copies over digital downloads, primarily due to the fact that pricing of digital games often outstrips that of their physical counterparts. However, the study points to the consumer mentality of buying “must-have” games the moment they come out as a potential cause of future problems. Specifically, with the PS4’s ability to allow players to play a game as it downloads, it could lead to an increase of digital downloads and leading to a greater negative impact on the environment. In order to leave a smaller carbon footprint, the study recommends that players should purchase the Blu-Ray copy and use the public transportation system for travel. Another option is to include the game purchase along with the purchase of other items while shopping, rather than simply travelling to make a single purchase.