Odd math?

I really can’t totally defend the logic that was used to get some of the numbers in this. I do think you have a point though; it does seem to be unfair to attribute 24 hours of PC time to avatar energy use. But the server time really does need to be counted because the “life state” of each avatar needs to be maintained 24 hours a day in order to stay “alive”. It could be argued that if Linden labs didn’t exist, the energy draw of their servers and other equipment wouldn’t be there.

Incidentally the same analogy could be made for something like a stock portfolio or something similar. Your stock portfolio (if you have one) could be using more energy than a real person. (Maybe your bank account uses more energy than you.) This article is an interesting concept only because instead of the data being a bunch of boring financial numbers, the stored data is used to resemble a virtual human, and is also of a recreational nature.

You're definitely right, those numbers would be inflated under the assumption of 24-7 gameplay. However, the "two hour" notion may be an incorrect estimationn of game time. I think it's a fair assessment for traditional games that people play. However, MMORPGs have a more immersive nature that leads the players to be very addicted.

• the Koreans are notorious for being obsessive gamers - one dying after playing 50 hours straight
• my "college" roommate was kicked out after failing five of his classes because of non-stop gaming; I would estimate from 6pm through 2am everyday for a semester
• gold farmers [alluded to in Taxing MMORPGs] clearly play for endless amounts of hours

I think the requirement to pay service fees drives gaming hours UP on this genre. It's like people that pay to work out a gym even though a free one exists. The fact that they shelled out real $$ for it is an incentive to make the maximum use from the expenditure.