Most professional live streamers, even if they’re primarily playing video games on console, typically use a capture card and record/broadcast via a streaming PC. The Xbox One and PS4 each had integrated software to stream to Twitch and Mixer without a capture card, also toting the ability to utilize the camera peripherals to add webcams to their stream layouts. However, several PlayStation 5 leaks listed an integrated camera with the console to encourage users to live stream their video game content. This may no longer be the case.
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Mirrorless Camera Feature Cancelled
It appears originally the PlayStation 5 was planned to have an integrated mirrorless camera bundled with the system. A recent report states that this camera feature, among other unknown features, were cancelled because of a PS5 component supply shortage. Due to the rising cost and high demand of DRAM and NAND flash memory from the tech industry at large, manufacturing costs for the PlayStation 5 have circumstantially increased. With RAM prices increasing and price projections for the system running around $450 for manufacturing the PlayStation 5, the report cites this cost increase as the reason for the cancelled inclusion of the camera.
Mirrorless cameras like the Panasonic G7 Camera are often used for higher quality filmmaking and video recording, in comparison to a standard DSLR camera or webcam. Since the lens design is inherently more expensive, that’s part of the reason why it could’ve been cancelled for inclusion with the PlayStation 5 since this would be a premium fixture. As of right now, this report is still unconfirmed, but it’s an interesting aspect of the new consoles often not considered.
Current Generation Console Streaming
With the PS5 hoping to have live streaming-focused functionality included with the hardware, it shows PlayStation is committed to console streaming’s future. Initially. Xbox and PlayStation’s idea was to promote console streaming to Twitch as a viable option for those who aren’t using an advanced/professional setup. It’s hard to compare console streams to professional, desktop-managed stream productions, but it at least provided a budget option for those just starting out or wanting to make some extra money streaming on the side.
Many people use the “sharing” functionality on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, but it is pretty bare-bones. Players had one standard stream layout they could use and that was it. Players who owned the PlayStation camera or Xbox Kinect could add webcams, but that’s as far as the customization could stretch. There were no follower or subscriber alerts for streamers on console, only viewer counts. Players also could not import their own custom overlays and were constrained to the default layout. There’s no fully-fledged dedicated app like Twitch Studio for console’s to stream from directly. The functionality was there, but it was limited in scope. A new camera being bundled with the system may mean that could change in the next generation.
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Console Streaming For the Future
Having a camera in general, other than Kinect which served a completely different purpose, means there’s clearly a renewed interest in live streaming games on console. Many have theorized that it would come to a point where consoles and streaming could even take over PC gaming completely, and this could be a start. With revamped console live streaming, this could pose a major shift for game streamers in certain game categories due to convenience.
An example would be members of the fighting game community like Street Fighter, who often have to stream gameplay from their console via capture card and PC. There’s plenty of reasons why fighting game streamers would need to do so, but it usually boils down to games being console-exclusive or the desire for functional parity with tournament setups. It’s a very specific circumstance, but with added functionality to console streaming to bring it up to par with PC streaming, many new streamers could easily opt-in to console streaming without their production quality (and their wallet) suffering.
If PlayStation can add the quality-of-life changes console streaming needs to be on par with PC streaming, going live on consoles may actually be worthwhile. We’re likely going to hear more about PlayStation’s plans for console streaming during the PS5 reveal event rumored for later this month, but PlayStation has likely examined console live streaming from this past generation and determined what it needs to fix/improve moving forward.
The main functionality it could include is adding layout customization for streams. Layouts and aesthetics for streaming are distinct factors that separate each streamer’s unique identity. Also allowing dimension changes, such as making the gameplay window larger, webcam smaller, or changing the layout in general takes the customization a step further. Stream notifications are also a must, because it helps curate and encourage community activity between the streamer and viewers. Donation goals, subscriber goals, and other special incentives are a big part of Twitch and Mixer. Viewers and “Twitch Chat” aren’t enough to justify community engagement with streamers, even if they are streaming for hours at a time.
The end result would be a larger and more diverse ecosystem of players live streaming directly from their PlayStation 5. At first it would be a microcosm in the streaming space. But over time, so long as Sony supports the functionality well, it could create a larger influx of streamers in the market with a smaller barrier of entry for beginning streamers.
Sony’s PlayStation 5 is currently in development and set to launch holiday 2020.
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