I'm looking for new perspectives and insights into when it is appropriate to separate the platforms. I'll give my two cents and then you guys can feel free to discuss

I believe that the point of different categories is to have different ways of playing the game. If a game plays the exact same regardless of the platform, then it should not be a separate category. What I'm saying is, factors like load times are arbitrary if the things you do in the run don't differ from platform to platform.

With this being said, I also don't think that if a small portion of the game is different then that automatically warrants separation. Like if a coin is moved slightly to the left or if a boss takes slightly more hits. These are negligible.

However, if there are a huge number of small differences, then that adds up to a big difference and thus they should be separate.

For example, in Jersey Devil the PAL version has SO MANY minor changes that comparing it to NTSC would not be accurate. They are their own separate games.

This is a much more complex topic then I had originally thought and I would be really interested to hear your guys' take.

Something to note is that any type of variable between platforms of one game will vary differently when comparing a different game's platforms. One factor may be arbitrary in one game, but it could have a much greater effect in a different game. For example, the difference in the load times of one game might be negligible, but in another game it could be a difference of seconds for each loading period, possibly adding up to minutes. I guess that means my thought about your inquiry is that it depends on the game.

@kobepilgrim a good exemple would be: http://www.speedrun.com/disney_pixars_toy_story_2_gameboy

game will lag like hell in one but not in the other, which result in a 4 mins ish difference(even though it is the very same game).