Xbox One gameplay DVR records last five minutes, ten less than PS4

Xbox One game DVR length
Ken Lobb, aka 'the Klobb,' details the game DVR

The Xbox One will not only be able to capture your last epic headshot - it should be able to record your last dozen through its integrated game DVR.

The November-bound console will be able to be able to continually record the last five minutes of gameplay, revealed Microsoft Studios creative director Ken Lobb to GameSpot.

"The idea is that you're always recording," he said in the video interview. "We have a ring buffer DVR basically."

Although the company is heavily focused on utilizing the cloud, the captured video will be stored locally on the hard drive, noted Lobb.

How the game DVR works

Lobb, the former Nintendo designer who had the GoldenEye 007 N64 "Klobb" gun named after him, laid out examples of how the Xbox One game DVR will work.

An online player can quickly say "Xbox, record that" in a no-pause scenario to capture the last 30 seconds of gameplay when they just did "the best thing ever." Later, they can play around with the saved gameplay clip.

Scenario two idea ideal for offline players who are in the middle of a battle and want to wait up to five minutes before executing the recording. After all, if you die, it's not worth saving no matter how amazing the middle of the fight looks.

From there, players will be able to save, scrub, and break up the video into to a customizable highlight reel, add bumpers before and after, and even insert voiceovers and picture-in-picture via Kinect.

Sony one-ups Microsoft... again?

The Xbox One game DVR is a godsend for gamers who have had to deal with rigged-together third-party video capture boxes when recording their best Call of Duty kills on Xbox 360 and PS3 this generation.

However, Microsoft's five minute ring buffer is more like a Red Ring of Death compared to Sony's plans for the PS4 gameplay DVR.

The PS4 will capture the last fifteen minutes of gameplay, according to comments Sony made to CVG.

Additionally, DualShock 4 controller includes the convenient "share button" near where the "select" button used to be, so you don't have to shout at your console to get it to record.

  • See how the rest of the Xbox One vs PS4 features stack up before this fall.
Matt Swider