nVidia Sheild (Gaming Device)

[Crowbar Man]

So, nVidia just announced a portable kinda all in one gaming device they are calling "nVidia Sheild"

The device itself is an Android powered device with their brand new next generation mobile SoC: Tegra 4 (4 CPU cores, 72 GPU cores. This is 6x the GPU cores that Tegra 3 had).

As pictured, its basically a controller with a foldable 5 inch 720p multitouch screen attached as well. It can play games on both the screen itself and on your television set via multiple planned methods (wired/wireless)

Another feature is the ability to locally stream PC games to it (if you have a compatible GeForce video card in your PC). Kind of like a Wii U GamePad for your PC, you can play your PC games anywhere in your house. As an extra bonus, you can even stream them to your TV!

It can play any game from Google Play, nVidia's own Tegra Zone, and even has Steam support!

Seems pretty spiffy, but no information on price or release

[ocre]

Q2, huh? Got that Animal Crossing release date ready, Nintendo?

But seriously, all that tech sounds nice, at least(shame about that design. Looks like something straight out of 2003. Ouch.) but you have to wonder what NVIDIA is thinking entering the handheld market when not even Sony (a household name even in handhelds) could float their latest handheld system in this upturned climate. And how low can they get the price for this thing? Okay, it supports Steam; aren't Valve themselves bringing out a console this year? And aren't Steam enthusiasts kind of wondering why they need a Valve (or any) console when they have their nice PC rig all set up?

I'm kinda skeptical this will make any kind of splash.

[DusK]

Another feature is the ability to locally stream PC games to it (if you have a compatible GeForce video card in your PC). Kind of like a Wii U GamePad for your PC, you can play your PC games anywhere in your house. As an extra bonus, you can even stream them to your TV!

DO WANT.

/10char

[Skyline Drop]

I really hope that's not the final design. Looks like a real hassle to handle.

[Malaki-LEGEND.sys]

Go go Gadget Market Saturation!

But really, what needs to be said about this device? If nVidia has been paying attention to mobile gaming trends, they'd notice that the kind of people they're aiming at do not want to play "hardcore" games on a small screen, or else the Vita would be flying off shelves, and that the only games that are breaking serious bank(probably the market they're assuming they can break into with this) are dumb .99 cent apps on the iOS and Android markets.

Also echoing Ocre on this about people already having their beefed up rigs that they aren't going to forgo just to use this thing. My own personal speculation is that this is going to be a niche for people who want to do game streaming directly to their TV and that's it, which could be practical as long as they allow for multiplayer support somehow(and I don't see how they couldn't), seeing as how that'd be a big draw to migrate away from your PC screen IMO.

[djpretzel]

Slick. Very slick.

Although, as I was telling folks at MAG, I do love my Vita... but having an Android portable with amazing emulator support & integration would rock. Hopefully it's open & supports all that, and isn't prohibitively expensive.

[Dj Mokram]

The biggest issue with the Vita (aside from the price-tag) would be its software lineup. Sony clearly put too much faith into consumers being cash cows and neglected their effort to involve (and give incentive to) third party devs. The Vita was deemed one of the biggest product failure of 2012, outsold 47:1 by the 3DS. There's no denying it's a fantastic device from a technical standpoint, but the people behind it turned the machine into a niche system with very narrow appeal. And this comes from someone who still had a PSP until a couple weeks ago.

At this point, it takes two things to enter the handheld gaming market: insane amounts of cash to burn and insane amount of balls. We already knew Nvidia had the first, but since they're fusing a portable dvd player with a first gen Xbox gamepad, I'd say they got the second item covered as well.

[Modus]

Another feature is the ability to locally stream PC games to it (if you have a compatible GeForce video card in your PC). Kind of like a Wii U GamePad for your PC, you can play your PC games anywhere in your house. As an extra bonus, you can even stream them to your TV!

Sold, if price is < 250

Otherwise I just want it really fucking bad.

[Dhsu]

So...OUYA on steroids. I'm with Modus, I think pricing and streaming quality are going to be the dealmaker/breaker here, because otherwise it's a small tablet with a non-detachable controller. The only other selling point is Tegra 4, which I guess they could leverage if they manage to coordinate with devs on a release title or two.

[Crowbar Man]

Well unfortunately it looks like we shouldn't expect this device to be in a lower price range. nVidia have said they plan on selling this at decent profit, which makes sense since it is not going to be making nVidia any money through game sales (Google Play / Steam doesn't make them any money, I doubt Tegra Zone is a big income earner, and they don't make games themselves). If it is really expensive though, it wont really have too much of an audience. We'll see when the final price is revealed

[KyleJCrb]

It looks cool, and I do like the streaming features, but the price will be a dealbreaker for sure. The MOGA Gamepad and a Galaxy S III are suitable enough for my mobile gaming needs.