The Xbox One is inching closer and closer to its November launch window, and gamers are eager for any and all information they can get about the system. Microsoft has released a new tidbit of information about the console's ability to use external recording devices, and a legendary game developer has given his thoughts on the console as well.
Polygon spoke to Microsoft Game Studios vice president Phil Spencer about the Xbox One's ability to use external recording devices. The Xbox One only has HDMI outputs and has a HDCP, or High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection digital rights management system, so some gamers were concerned if their recording devices would be compatible with the new system. However, Spencer confirmed that the Xbox One will work in the exact same way as the Xbox 360 when it comes to recording devices.
This means that anybody wishing to make a simple gameplay video will have no problem using their current camera on the Xbox One, however there will be some restrictions on using external cameras. One example of a incompatible method for capturing footage given by Spencer is ustreaming something which has support for HDCP encryption. Of course, users can also use the Kinect to record gameplay footage and store it on the console's game DVR.
Meanwhile, the creator one of the most popular franchises in the early history of video games, John Carmack, was at QuakeCon and gave a speech recorded by Gamespot. Carmack, who created the video game Doom and founded id Software, spoke briefly about the Xbox One,and believes that Microsoft's initial always online and used games policies were justified. He called gamer's rage against Microsoft a "witch hunt", and he believes that digital only games are the future, and gamers are going to have to accept that fact sooner or later:
"It probably won't be many years before we wind up with SKUs that just have the optical drives deleted and everybody will just be getting it through the net...The future is obvious right there and it will be good for us in general."
Carmack also dismissed fears about the potential invasion of privacy that the Kinect may pose to gamers, comparing it to people's fears that a GPS in a phone would cause the government to be able to keep track of users:
"If you go back ten years, the idea that everyone would carry around a phone that has your GPS-located position at all times would cause the tinfoil hat crowd to go absolutely crazy,"
Look out for more Xbox One news as we get closer to November.