Because computer memory is severely limited these days...
That's not the point. This the nerdy version of souping up your car so that it'll do 0-100 in 4.5 seconds instead of 6.8.
Imagine if all applications were as efficient and small as this one. As somebody with an interest in algorithmics, I get very annoyed by the "RAM and processing is cheap"-viewpoint. That's not what should determine how we code. Efficient code and mathematically optimised code should be foremost in any good programmer's mind. Think how much further we could progress with more efficient code.
From Cormen & Rivest's classic textbook:
As programs increase in size and complexity optimising code it is just not worth it and can become very difficult to do.
You're also ignoring the time/memory trade-off found in many algorithms. In many cases less time is more memory and vice versa. This will especially be evident in games. OK so now your favourite game 10Gigs instead of 50GB, uses less RAM and less processing power. However now your bot teamates are dumb to the point of being useless, NPCs get lost easily and take forever to find their way to you, real-time shadows and effects can't be rendered quick enough etc etc.
It's a waste of programmer time too, even if you manage to improve speed and reduce memory requirements simultaneously. That DLC you want to make will take years instead of a few months because all of the coders will be fiddling with assembly, C and complex algorithms instead of using the scripting language the game engine provides. This in turn makes it more expensive as well.
I'm not saying we shouldn't pursue more efficient code but it shouldn't be a top priority all the time.
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