Still smarting about the lack of memory on the PS3 or how
it’s distributed? We have some good news for you: Sony have found some
more. Though this statement might be technically true, the
reality is that resources previously assigned to running the OS
(Operating System), the amount of memory needed to run an actual
PlayStation 3 in other words, has now been curtailed to a svelte 50MB.
This figure is less than half what the PS3 originally required to
operate at launch and is much closer to what the 360 needs to function
(32MB).
Whooosh! Yeah, all very scientific, but what does this mean for your
average PS3 game developer? Well, in essence, more memory to play
around with.
If you’re asking how and where such advancements have been made, the
answer lies in how Sony designed the system in the beginning. Not sure
what the future entailed, the electronics giant allocated a full 120MB
to the OS (which includes running the XMB amongst other things). Now
that they know just how much memory they actually need, they can hand
spare bytes back to the developers like digital trinkets. In fact, this
latest gift is the second time a reduction in the OS footprint has been
possible.
To us laymen, the document where this reduction is discussed is like
staring into the Large Hadron Collider, drunk and upside down. A
quagmire of Giggle FLOPS and such terms as “Element Interconnector
Buses”, if you happen to be savvy with the technology behind what makes
the PS3 work (or you’re suffering from insomnia and are fresh out of
hot cocoa) go knock yourself out.
Our favourite slide of the bunch has to be #86 where it quite innocently asks “Any questions so far?”
Yes, lots.