What you need to record console game play

So you are a Call of Duty pro that wants to show the world how many noobs you can waste in a PUB stomping massacre. Maybe you regularly score goals playing FIFA 17 and no one else is there to witness your glory. Whatever your reasons, we could all agree that recording game play directly from the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is not ideal for image quality or convenience. Not if you want to take your gaming and kudos up a notch.

If you are serious about console gaming, especially FPS, and have another computer available, the chances are you already have the foundations of a basic set up to record your game play. During this series I'll be taking you through what equipment you will need and how to set it all up. So what will you need as the bare minimum?

Elgato HD60 £139 This is a necessity and the industry standard game capture device used by pretty much every YouTuber. Sure there are other devices available, but these are not as connected as the Elgato. You can record and edit your game play, as well as stream directly to Twitch and YouTube. You will also need a computer with a USB port to connect the device, as well as a chat link cable if you want to record any party chat.

External Hard drive £50 - £100 If you are recording in the best quality available (and you should be) you are going to use a lot of hard disk space. Your computer will hate you and eventually die a slow, hot, noisy death. It's better to administer the pill before the problem and store all your media on a separate hard drive. Then back up those special clips again.

Gaming Headset £25 - ??? Chances are you have this already. If not you need to invest in some before going any further. Whether you buy a budget pair of Turtle Beach, or a pair of Astros. The idea is to communicate in game, when streaming to an audience and also act as your sound output. Most budget headsets will be adequate for this purpose if you are dabbling in recording and streaming for the first time.

Video Editing Software Editing in YouTube or the Elgato software will not give you more advanced editing features. Windows Movie Maker or imovie would be a good start and is software you probably already have. Editing software is expensive and be prepared to pay £250 upwards for Sony Vegas, or a £17 monthly subscription to Adobe for Premiere.

There are additional pieces of equipment you could acquire. I cover these in my video where I go through my entire set up that I use for editing, streaming and game capture. I'll be covering how to set up the Elgato in my next video for game and audio capture.

Please leave any comments or questions and I will be happy to answer them.