The news this morning from Digital Foundry that Sony's PlayStation 4 will allegedly require a hefty chunk of its memory to run the console's OS -- 3.5GB of its celebrated 8GB total -- has a few scratching their heads and many a fanboy rushing to the front lines. But we shouldn't be wasting our breath on hardware comparisons that miss the point.
The argument goes that so much memory-hogging kills the soaring ambitions Sony had set out for developers. Sony surprised the gaming community in February when it unveiled the console and showcased its jump from the rumored 4GB to a full 8GB of RAM. But now the concern is that developers won't be able to tap the full potential of the new console's extra muscle.
The truth is that Sony's RAM requirements should come as no surprise.
The news also follows some of the most vicious console-war back-and-forths in gaming history. In April, Microsoft revealed that its Xbox One would also have 8GB of RAM -- openly disclosing that the console's OS would demand three of those gigabytes. But at E3 in May, Microsoft was forced to confirm its widely unpopular policy of requiring Xbox One users to be constantly connected to the Internet, moving attention away from comparisons over specs. Anticipating Microsoft's position on user restrictions, Sony made a point of presenting its PS4 as the less draconian console -- and got an enthusiastic rise from the crowd as a result. Microsoft made a very public reversal the following month, and the debacle seemed to have left the PS4 with a clear lead.
Also, because Sony had initially been unclear about the memory requirements of its console's OS, some fans were left thinking the PS4 was potentially more powerful. Leaked documents had suggested that the 4GB version of the PS4 would require only about a half a gigabyte to run the OS, so some people assumed that the 8GB version might require only roughly a gigabyte -- giving the PS4 an edge over the Xbox One when it came to how smoothly the same games would run on both platforms.
Now, however, with this new memory revelation (if it turns out to be true), Sony fanboys are left feeling like they were played a fool for defending the PS4's graphical advantage and for collectively attacking Microsoft and its Xbox One missteps.
Why the RAM revelation doesn't change anything
But the truth is that Sony's RAM requirements should come as no surprise. They're only slightly more demanding than those of Microsoft's Xbox One. The fact that these consoles are doing a heck of a lot more than just running games -- for instance, constantly storing gameplay footage; integrating activity into social networks and streaming services; recording your physical movements at all times -- inherently means they'll need more RAM to keep chugging along. If you wanted to play games on a less memory-intensive OS, you'd be a PC gamer.
That Sony wouldn't open up about this sooner may have to do with its strategy of keeping the conversation centered less on specs and more on strategy, specifically its corporate pro-gamer mindset and how much more consumer-friendly Sony's PS4 approach was when compared with Microsoft's restrictive disaster. But after all, Sony's closed-mouth strategy is smart marketing, and it shouldn't change your sympathies toward the PS4 if that's the console you've picked. This next-gen is ultimately about the overall gaming experience, with emphasis on platform exclusives; ease and functionality of online play; and the treatment of the blossoming indie game community.