While PS4 owners in North America are already taking advantage of the console's Twitch and Ustream streaming capabilities, their Xbox One counterparts will have to wait a little longer for such a feature to hit their next-gen console. Yes, native gameplay streaming will not be available on the Xbox One at launch.

Although Twitch streaming will not be available at launch, gamers will, however, be able to watch a selection of Twitch streams straight from their console. In other words, Xbox One owners can watch streams of their PS4 compatriots, but cannot join in on the fun.

As of right now, Microsoft is hopeful that gameplay streaming will become available in the first part of 2014, but they don't have an official target date. They realize such a feature is important to gamers, and hope to deliver it soon.

Unlike the PS4, however, the Xbox One supports gameplay capture through a secondary device (El Gato, HD PVR, etc.), so there is still an option for streaming matches in Call of Duty: Ghosts or Killer Instinct. Obviously, the native streaming makes doing so much easier, but at least those "Let's Play-ers" out there are not completely out of luck.

Speaking of missing launch-day features, it has also come to light that the Xbox One will not be able to play music from a USB stick at launch. While not as intriguing of a feature as gameplay streaming, it's still important to know what the console can and cannot do.

@gohardgohome07 not at launch

– Albert Penello (@albertpenello) November 19, 2013

 

Microsoft's Albert Penello confirmed the news on Twitter, implying that the feature is in the works. Unfortunately, he wouldn't say when exactly gamers could expect USB support to come in. On the bright side, the Xbox One will be able to play audio CDs, which is something the PS4 cannot.

One feature that will be making the Xbox One launch is the SkyDrive connectivity for gameplay uploads and sharing. SkyDrive, for those that might not know, is Microsoft's new cloud storage service that is directly tied to the Xbox One.

With SkyDrive, gamers will be able to upload their gameplay clips to the cloud and then do any number of things with them, from sharing the clips on social media to downloading them into editing software. So, while gamers won't be able to stream gameplay clips, they will be able to save their Game DVR clips to SkyDrive for easy sharing. It's important to mention, though, that the current limit for Game DVR clips is only 5 minutes, but that could increase as time goes on.

With less than three days until the launch of the Xbox One it appears that Microsoft is trying to make gamers well aware which features will and will not be available at launch. Granted, it would have been nice to know sooner rather than at "zero hour," but that just appears to be the case with these next-gen consoles.

How much of an impact does gameplay streaming have on the Xbox One's overall appeal? Does it affect your interest in the console? What do you think about SkyDrive? Is that something you will use?

Microsoft's Xbox One will be available November 22, 2013.

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Source: Microsoft, Albert Penello - Twitter