Xbox One DVR Requires Xbox Live Gold Account, Sony Offering Better Functions For Free

The Xbox One gaming console will arrive before Christmas, and it will come jam packed with features. Unfortunately, Microsoft is attempting to squeeze as much money as possible from customers because of those features.

According to a report from ArsTechnica, the Xbox One will require an Xbox Live Gold Account for users who wish to record and share video and screens from their gameplay.

When Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One in May, the company immediately came under fire from users unhappy with the consoles very tight controls. Microsoft announced the DVR service at the time of announcement but failed to mention the Xbox Live Gold subscription requirement.

News of the DVR subscription requirement was discovered after Microsoft added the feature to its Xbox.com list of Xbox Live Gold features. Following that post, a Microsoft official confirmed the requirement to a representative at One Hit Pixel.

Listed on the Gold exclusive features list are like Skype calling, NFL on Xbox, and the “OneGuide” customized view of live TV content.

Really, this news shouldn’t surprised Xbox One users since Xbox Live Gold members have always been given much better access to Microsoft Xbox features than non-paying members. For example, non-Xbox Live Gold members are limited to the purchase and download of games and entertainment content plus a limited selection of video apps.

Xbox Live Gold subscription costs were increased from $50 to $60 annually in 2010.

Sony, on the other hand, will offer a similar service for no cost to PS4 customers. Sony customers must still pay $50 per year for PlayStations Plus accounts which allow for multiplayer online play.

The Xbox One DVR system records a rolling sample of the last five minutes of gameplay compared to the PS4 which offers a 15 minute buffer. Xbox One customers receive their captured footage at 720p and 30 frames per second.