Game DVR is one of the most talked about features that the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will have when they are launched later this year. Both consoles will have features that allow them to record a certain amount of gameplay footage from a game, which players can then review, or send selected footage to friends. Both Sony and Microsoft have detailed what their own console's game DVR's will be like, and now we bring you a preview of what to expect from the new function.
Over the weekend, during the San Diego Comic Con, Microsoft Studios creative director Ken lobb gave a preview of the feature to Gamespot. He gave a brief description of the feature, including how much video it will record while games are in use:
"It's called Project Upload. So the idea is you're always recording...So we have a ring buffer game DVR, basically. So the last five minutes of any game you're playing is always being stored locally on your hard drive."
Online functionality for the game DVR will be slightly different. Using the Kinect, the Xbox One will save the last 30 seconds of gameplay if users give the command "Xbox Record." This will be the easiest way to save footage while online, since gamers will not exactly be able to pause the game and surf through menus while in the middle of an online match. From there, users will be able to go back and edit the video, as well as add voice-overs and photos into the video before sharing it with friends.
The PlayStation 4 will have a similar function with its game DVR, however, Eurogamer is reporting that the PlayStation 4's game DVR will capture anywhere from the last 7 to 15 minutes of footage from the user's current session. Sony Europe's Neil Brown previously discussed the feature during the Develop conference last week, and explained it will have many of the same features the Xbox One's game DVR will have, only incorporated with the PlayStation 4's Share button.
While both console's have a limited amount of automatically recorded gameplay, both consoles will allow streaming of live gameplay for a (presumably) unlimited amount of time. However, users may not be able to edit these longer videos on the console and will have to bring the videos to a PC instead.
Look out for more Xbox One and PlayStation 4 news as both consoles get closer to their expected launch windows.