The latest system software update for the Nintendo Switch added the ability to capture gameplay video, but don’t get too excited. It only works in four games currently, and the results aren’t great.
Owners of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, ARMS, and Splatoon 2 can now hold down the Switch’s capture button instead of pressing it to save the last 30 seconds of gameplay in a 720P (1280 x 720), 30 frames per second video clip. Once finished, they can clip the video as they see fit and upload it to Facebook or Twitter.
Here’s a video I captured from Splatoon 2 and posted on Facebook.
It’s relatively low resolution, and playing it back via Facebook mucks things up significantly. Grabbing the raw file from Facebook and uploading it to YouTube clears it up a bit.
But really, not so great. Fine for capturing a particular cool fight in Splatoon or documenting a discovery in Zelda, but not something you’d want to send to Highlight Reel editor Chris Person. If you want high-quality video, a capture card is still your best bet.
On the plus side, short, low-quality video doesn’t take up a lot of room in storage. Two 30 second videos only take up 37 MB, or slightly more than 141 screenshots.
For a system with relatively limited storage, this is fine. I can’t see myself using the video capture feature on the Switch all that often (especially since I only regularly play one of the four currently supported games), but it’s better than spamming the screenshot button in the hopes of building a flipbook.