User blog:Smuff/Xbox One resolution due to memory allocation

Last week we discussed the fact that the Xbox One runs at a lower native resolution than the Playstation 4. interview with Eurogamer, Mark Rubin explained that while Infinity Ward had the developer kits for both consoles, the unfamiliar operating systems for both consoles proved a problem for the developer, and while saying that there's no specific cause, blamed the voice chat in particular for taking up too much RAM.

"...The VO chat on Xbox took up so much resources that we couldn't do 1080p native. There's no definitive one-to-one per se cause and effect. It's just an overall thing."

Infinity Ward made the call a month ago, although the decision process was a long one. Rubin added that "it wasn't a lack of effort" on the studio's part, and said that in the future, after developers become more familiar with the consoles' hardware and software, it's likely that things could change, similar to when the Xbox 360/PS3 first came out.

"It's very possible we can get [future games] to native 1080p. I mean I've seen [Ghosts] working at 1080p native. It's just we couldn't get the frame rate in the neighborhood we wanted it to be ... First launch, first time at bat at a new console, is a challenging one. That's just the way it is. For people fearful one system is more powerful than the other or vice versa, it's a long game."

Memory allocation on the Xbox One is hopefully just a temporary issue. The PS3 also suffered from issues due to a small RAM allocation, with only 256mb available to developers, as a result cross-game chat wasn't available on the console.

Call of Duty: Ghosts comes out tomorrow.