Larry ‘Major Nelson’ Hryb’s Xbox One March update video demonstrates that — at least for now — each screenshot taken on the console will carry Xbox branding.
Don’t believe me? Take another look at the video, and keep an eye out for that logo.
See? That Xbox logo is on every. Single. One.
Microsoft is already light-years behind Sony in terms of this functionality, and that’s simply because it’s taken this long for screenshots to arrive on the Xbox One. To finally get the functionality and see that all screenshots might be branded by the console publisher is just lunacy.
I’m not trying to be a fanboy either way here, but I really do appreciate that screenshots on the PS4 are simply that. Screenshots.
As if I hit PrtSrn using a PC.
And that’s how it should be.
What’s your take on Microsoft potentially branding each screenshot you take on the Xbox One?
Seriously is a new feature that lets us pose hard-hitting (or not) questions to you — or at least encourage discussion amongst — our readers. Help us out!
Update: I understand that Xbox logo is on the Xbox One UI, but it disappears and reappears in the video above when the Upload app is being used. One screenshot (at 0:0:15 in) has additional “A – Save; B – Cancel” dialog on it, which makes sense for the UI watermark to be there, but the rest of the images have the same mark too.
Of course this could just be UI overlay, but I’m not convinced.
When the Preview Program is available — and I own three Xbox Ones that have access to it, I’ll check this myself. I’ve also made a formal request of Microsoft to confirm or deny the watermark.
In other words, let’s have a civil discussion about this.
Update 2: I’ve taken a number of screenshots and they don’t appear to have the watermark on them, but I also can’t share them to OneDrive or any other service to officially confirm. I also cannot replicate screenshots as seen in Major Nelson’s video, so I’m not yet entirely convinced that the watermark won’t be slapped on at the endpoint.
Are you in the Preview and having better luck than I? Please get in touch.
Update 3: Okay, after setting the controller down and refraining from touching any buttons I can think of, I can replicate the screenshot viewed in Upload with the Xbox logo in the top-right and nothing else. Between this, and an unofficial confirmation from a source within Xbox, I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt and go with the idea screenshots will not be watermarked.
That all said, there are several comments below that insist gamers don’t mind even if there was a watermark on images. Where do you weigh in on the matter? Are you happy having a watermark on your screenshots? Why or why not?
Update 4: This. Right here. It’s everything I can think of in terms of the functionality as it stands today
Update 5: No watermark, confirmed:
— Steve Wright (@SWrightAU) February 21, 2015
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