Earlier this morning, we reported that Nintendo released a new firmware update for the Switch. While features like new user icons, pre-loading new releases, and file transfers are worthy to mention, the oft-requested option to record gameplay footage has been the update's most discussed feature. There are unfortunate limitations with this for the time being. Players can only capture the past 30 seconds of gameplay, and this is limited to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Arms, and Splatoon 2. However, if a report from Kotaku UK is to be believed, video capture will be increasing in length and spread to other titles in the future.
Editor Laura Kate Dale claims that she has spoken with two sources connected with Nintendo. Both of them have disclosed that the publisher is only limiting video capture time until all of its first-party software and a significant portion of third-party titles are supported via game patches. The former will be a priority for Nintendo, but third-party titles that contain Nintendo properties (such as Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle) will receive special attention. Once the feature proves stable on the platform over time, Nintendo will allow recordings "of one minute, three minutes, or five minutes." But the sources claim that no exact time table is in place to roll these plans out.
In addition, the Reddit community happened to discover that certain types of wireless headsets with USB-A to USB-C adapters will now work with the Switch. Indeed, you can plug in, say, the PlayStation Gold Headset USB adapter and use it wirelessly. However, connecting via Bluetooth without an adapter still doesn't work, and voice chat is not supported outside of the official smartphone app Nintendo has created for this feature.
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Considering that the PlayStation 4 allows up to 15 minutes of video capture with arguably better quality, it's good to hear that Nintendo is supposedly increasing the limit and widening supported games in the future with hopeful improvements in tow. I know that most of the game footage I want to capture lasts longer than 30 seconds, so if updates might go even higher with 10 minutes of recorded footage, that would be stellar. As for the inconsistent headset feature, it's great to see progress on this, but it's strange that Nintendo wouldn't disclose this officially in the firmware notes. That's Nintendo for you!Have you tested out the new video capture feature yet on the Switch? What are your thoughts on it and Nintendo's supposed plans for the future? Record your thoughts in the comments section to let us know.
