It Doesn't Matter

Some people would say that something important happened in the gaming world over the weekend. Judging by the amount of articles about a certain gaming topic and the amount of comments across many sites on such articles, those people would be right. However, when considering this, one must first consider the difference between an event and activity.

An event is when something happens. It doesn't have to be awesome or epic. In fact, it can be as banal as eating a bowl of cereal, watching a movie, or crossing a street. It can also be as exciting as man landing on the moon, a polio vaccine being discovered, or the Berlin Wall being brought down. For the most part, the amount of discussion made by people in regards to an event is directly proportionate to the importance of that event. This amount of discussion is what I mean by activity. Typically, the more important an event, the higher the activity.

The world of gaming is a special case. The importance of an event does not dictate the activity resultant to it. The activity after an event DEFINES the importance of that event.

This weekend is a perfect example.

As many people know, on Friday, an article was released that stated the PS4 would allow less than the original 7GB of RAM previously thought to be allocated to games - somewhere between 4.5 and 5.5GB. On Saturday, another article came out, revising the total to somewhere between 5 and 6GB. Also on Saturday, Sony made a statement that explained RAM distribution fell into several categories, but offered nothing as to specifics of what each category would receive. On Sunday, another source stated that the article from Friday was untrue, but again would not reveal anything specific concerning any breakdown of RAM. Now to be completely honest, I'm not sure that I am getting any of this right in terms of the timeline or details.

And it doesn't matter. But more on that in a little while.

Needless to say, from the time the first article was posted, there was an explosion of activity from commenters. The usual fanboys from both sides came out in full regalia - attacking and defending with their normal tactics of misdirection and hate. The logical people came out too, albeit to less self-decreed fanfare - questioning the information and processing what each new development could mean. There were also many of the normal crowd participating - whether actively engaged in the discussion or merely watching everything play out. And finally, there were the trolls - cheerful to have a topic controversial enough to emerge from under their bridges and bait people into anger with their ways. It was basically a normal couple of days, but on a larger scale.

And after all of the back and forth - all of the cross words and changed stances and questions and everything that came with all of this news, where are we? What do we actually know? Why did any of this matter? As I stated in the opening of this piece, based on the activity of this weekend, one might say that there was an important event that occurred. However, is that true? What, if anything happened?

The only solid and official news relative to the PS4's RAM this weekend was Sony's nonspecific statement regarding the distribution of it. Everything else was rumor, conjecture, extrapolation, and opinion. We still do not have any idea how many GB of RAM Sony allocates to games. And we will not know this until either Sony tells us themselves, a developer violates their non-disclosure agreement, or the console is actually released. That's right - just about everything that was discussed on the topic this weekend was irrelevant. And, as I said before, it doesn't matter.

In fact, it won't matter when we know it either.

As gamers, we play games, we talk about games, we read about games, we look forward to games, and basically, we live games. As a gamer, I can tell you that there is no better feeling than popping a new game into a console and seeing that title screen - begging you, daring you, wanting you to press start. The worlds that we get to experience are those that others will not. We can be anybody, do anything, and go anywhere. We can become heroes, villains, and everything in between. We can hang out with friends and bring them along with us on our journeys. We can play.

But somewhere along the way, we lost some of our kind. Instead of enjoying the journey, they got hung up on the vessel. They only look at specs and resolutions and frames per second and things that, quite frankly, are not as important as the games themselves. And then they tell us that we make bad decisions and consequently aren't having as much fun as they are. These are the people that care about Sony's allocated RAM - not because of what the value actually is, but because of what the value is in relation to another console. Why does that relative value, whether you're on one side or another, dictate how much enjoyment you will get out of whichever console you choose?

There is no reason because it doesn't matter.

What does matter is that in a few months, we're going to get our hands on brand new toys. We're going to officially be in the next generation. We're going to go to even cooler places than we did before. It's going to be exciting, awe-inspiring, amazing and I can't wait to have all of the fun that I'm going to have. And you will too. And at that moment when we pop that disc in and see "press start" on our screen, will any of us care about how much better or worse it will look on somebody else's? Will our experience be more positive or negative than some guy down the street who bought a different console? Will anyone care about that one weekend where nobody knew how much RAM the PS4 allowed for games? No, because at that moment, it doesn't matter. None of that matters. The only thing that will matter is the game that we are playing and how great newness feels.

It would be a good thing if we could remember that, even when new becomes old.

[TomShoe]

Great article.

I have to agree with you about the fact that the specs and power of a console only matter to a certain degree. A console should really be judged by your experience in using it.

This rumor was probably blown out of proportion that the fact that Sony has been nigh-invincible since E3. People that have had good experiences with Microsoft (not fanboys) have been hearing nothing but bad news about their own machine, and when the competition finally appeared to have a chink in their own armor, they were willing to jump on that flaw immediately, so they could have something tangible, something objective to hang their hat on. This doesn't excuse Sony people either, because they should quit slandering a console that's already been panned nationwide.

All these rumors and crap don't matter. We'll find out who's really superior come launch day.

[creatchee]

Thanks! It's true - people love to see reversals of fortune. There is something about seeing the guy on top falling from grace or the guy at the bottom rising to glory. However, when that becomes all that is important to us, we have to take a step back and consider why we care in the first place. Games should be the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and last reasons that we like a company. RAM can make them better, but it can't make us enjoy a turd or despise a masterpiece. We get hung up way too easily on things that don't matter in the end.

[rainslacker]

To be fair, from what I saw, the people on the MS side that jumped on this rumor were the same ones that have been "defending" the X1 or disparaging Sony despite their "nigh-invincibility" . The others were just talking like they always have, saying pretty much what this blog stated.

Maybe a few that decided it was a good time to pull the hypocrisy card or whatever.

Otherwise, I agree with the article. PS4's RAM availability doesn't really matter any more than X1's. At most it might be worth discussing how the OS footprint is being used, and how that can affect games, but I find it hardly a point to make into an arsenal for the console war. Games are all that matters.

Good blog creatchee.

[zerocrossing]

Great article, it was very refreshing.

Gaming journalism has hit a new low these days, where speculation, conjecture and flame bait headlines are all considered acceptable foundation for a news worthy article.

The recent RAM reports regarding the PS4 were such that had to ignore them, I couldn't bring myself to become one of those people actually taking such a rumour seriously, and what makes the whole thing so much more laughable is the fanboys using such "rumours" as evidence against or in defence of their chosen factions...

video game journalism is a joke and we're all helping hold the bar down.

[creatchee]

I agree. Gaming journalism has become as trashy as celebrity dirt sheets. Instead of selling copies of People and Star Magazine, it's all about hits on EuroGamer and Kotaku. Sensationalism sells more than honest reporting. In fact, if you AREN'T reporting something, you're behind the pack. Hence, rumors and other sources of dubious credibility become front page news. People take these as truth, or at least talking points, and go to their forums of choice, where they are defended as gospel or attacked as heresy. It's sad really, because in the end, we're still talking about video games - you know, something that is supposed to make us happy, not tear us apart and turn us into raving lunatics.

[Firan]

Great read.

I don't mind comparisons between the Xbox One and PS4 at all. I actually find them find them interesting if they are well put. Rumors are also interesting to discuss.

The fanboys however ruin the whole discussion by making it more serious than religion. It's like their self-esteem depends on their choice of platform. I find it hard to believe fanboys care about gaming at all after reading so much of their crap.

You don't play consoles, you play games. If the games are good, that's all what matters.

[creatchee]

Thanks and agreed! Video game fanboys are, like you said, worse than religious zealots (or at least on am even keel with them). You almost have to wonder if, when they get older, they will be as staunch in their blind support on other topics. I could definitely draw parallels between the hardcore political types. In all cases, it's not about being right so much as it is about proving somebody who doesn't agree with you wrong.

[Software_Lover]

F'n A!!!

I dont play Xbox. I play Halo. It just happens to be on the Xbox.

I dont play playstation. I play Uncharted. It just happens to be on the playstation.

Thank you and good night.