Uploaded October 2017 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
With the recent 4.0.0 system update, the Nintendo Switch is now capable of on-the-fly screen capture. Simply hold down the Capture Button to save the last 30 seconds of gameplay to your album and micro SD card. However that said, prior to this update most people used a capture card because of the many benefits it brings. Here's a direct comparison of game footage between the two recording methods.
The standalone footage from the Switch is actually pretty good. It's recorded in .mp4 format at 1280 x 720 resolution and 30 frames per second. For a quick Facebook or Twitter upload, it's more than enough and you can even trim footage with the built-in album app too.
However when compared to the Elgato HD60, there are quite a few things to note:
- The Elgato records at full 1080p and 60 frames per second (for games that support it)
- Colour saturation and contrast are more vibrant on the Elgato
- While the Switch is supposed to record at 30FPS, it can visibly drop frames in graphically heavy scenes, whereas the Elgato can maintain a rate of 60FPS
- The Switch can only record up to 30 seconds of footage, the Elgato can go for as long as your hard drive can take
- The Elgato can be used to livestream gameplay, whereas the Switch OS does not have built-in streaming features
- The Switch OS recording feature is only enabled in certain games (right now, it's Zelda Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, ARMS, and Splatoon 2) whereas an external capture card can record any game
- However, the Switch built-in recording feature works both in handheld and docked mode, whereas capture cards can only function when plugged into the HDMI port on the dock, essentially making them non-portable
With the recent 4.0.0 system update, the Nintendo Switch is now capable of on-the-fly screen capture. Simply hold down the Capture Button to save the last 30 seconds of gameplay to your album and micro SD card. However that said, prior to this update most people used a capture card because of the many benefits it brings. Here's a direct comparison of game footage between the two recording methods.
The standalone footage from the Switch is actually pretty good. It's recorded in .mp4 format at 1280 x 720 resolution and 30 frames per second. For a quick Facebook or Twitter upload, it's more than enough and you can even trim footage with the built-in album app too.
However when compared to the Elgato HD60, there are quite a few things to note:
- The Elgato records at full 1080p and 60 frames per second (for games that support it)
- Colour saturation and contrast are more vibrant on the Elgato
- While the Switch is supposed to record at 30FPS, it can visibly drop frames in graphically heavy scenes, whereas the Elgato can maintain a rate of 60FPS
- The Switch can only record up to 30 seconds of footage, the Elgato can go for as long as your hard drive can take
- The Elgato can be used to livestream gameplay, whereas the Switch OS does not have built-in streaming features
- The Switch OS recording feature is only enabled in certain games (right now, it's Zelda Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, ARMS, and Splatoon 2) whereas an external capture card can record any game
- However, the Switch built-in recording feature works both in handheld and docked mode, whereas capture cards can only function when plugged into the HDMI port on the dock, essentially making them non-portable
