The Official Android blog just announced of the launch of a new feature on the Google Play Games app: users are now able to record and share their gameplay from mobile games. It’s all a matter of pressing a record button, choosing to capture your success or failure in 720p or 480p and go.
Users even have the ability to use their phone’s front camera and microphone to add a video of the gamer to add comedic relief, reactions or commentary, and it can all be quickly edited and uploaded to YouTube.
The Details
This feature is available for the US and UK only for now, but in the coming days, Android said that it would be available to other countries and lightly hinted that this could cause a showdown with Google’s current competitor in this field, Twitch. A classy move, really.
According to TechCrunch, his new feature could be an attempt to help Google weigh in on the rising amount of video-game related content on YouTube, which prompted the company launched it’s own platform solely for gaming content, YouTube Gaming. Google Play Games is just making it easier for those who want to add into this content, which gets a great number of hits, almost at par with movie stars and musicians.
Going Up Against Twitch
Twitch, currently owned by Amazon, is gamers’ go-to for video game streams, gaming competitions and a place to discover new games ahead of release. YouTube remains a home base for video content, but it’s currently trying to categorize this content as to engage more public given their new sections gaming, kid’s videos and content aimed at creators. Google’s announcement also declares that the company will soon launch a software development kit for developers so they may be able to rebuild gameplay recording efficiency from their own apps and games.
And now a hopefully healthy competition begins! Video games have been on the rise as of late, spreading to wider audiences and garnering as much attention as other pop culture outlets, and this is not just limited to console games, but also in mobile games.
They’ve become diversified and cause for much debate, either on whether they’re too violent or helpful in decreasing stress and anxiety and could actually improve mental health. The fact of the matter is, video games are relevant, as relevant as any content streamed on the Internet and buzzing through the people, and Google, it seems, is just making it’s best to attempt to adapt and engage one more market.
