Nvidia handheld console can play Steam games in your hands or on your TV
Nvidia has decided it’s time to get deeper into the portable gaming market with more than just internal processors, and they’ve introduced a new handheld console with a lot of fancy features that may peak the interest of PC gamers.
Powered by their brand new Tegra 4 mobile processor, the Nvidia handheld console that is being called Project Shield looks to be about the size of an Xbox 360 controller, but has a clamshell design that includes a 5-inch 720p retinal multi-touch display. The new mobile processor is a Custom 72-core NVIDIA GeForce GPU Quad-core A15 CPU, and Nvidia says that with this new processor the Project Shield console will be the most powerful Android device on the market. The controller itself will be familiar to console fans, and features two analog sticks, four face buttons, and four shoulder buttons, as well as standard Android buttons and an Nvidia button for accessing the company’s “Tegra Zone” front-end of graphically intensive Android games.
As a mobile gaming device this new console will have the ability to play games from a catalog that includes Google Play games, as well as Nvidia’s “Tegra Zone” of graphically intensive Android games. Featured mobile games from the official Nvidia site include ARMA Tactics, Blood Sword: Sword of Ruin, Burn Zombie Burn, and Real Boxing.
What’s most intriguing about Project Shield is its ability to wirelessly stream games from a local Windows PC. With a GeForce GTX 600 series GPU, you can have access to games from your Steam library, and the ability to play them either on your Project Shield handheld console, or on your television using the controller. The tech demo included Assassin’s Creed III being played on both the 5-inch display, and a TV.
System Requirements for PC Game Streaming
- GPU: NVIDIA® Kepler™-based GeForce GTX 650 (Desktop) or
- GTX 660M (Notebook) or higher
- CPU: Intel Core i5 or equivalent or higher
- System Memory: 4 GB or higher
- Software: GeForce Experience™ application and latest GeForce drivers
- OS: Windows 7 or higher
- Router: Router: 802.11a/g/n
- (Recommended: 802.11n Dual Band / MIMO Router)
There was no announcement regarding either release date, or price, so we’ll just have to wait and see how much this device is gonna set you back and when you might get your hands on it. The question remains as to whether consumers are even looking for a multi-use/multi-platform device of this nature, as the PS Vita handheld console has seen poor sales, as has the Microsoft Surface tablet-notebook hybrid.
Is the Project Shield Nvidia handheld console something that peaks your interest, or would you rather just play your Android games on you current device, and your PC games on your PC? Nvidia is about to find out the answer to that question, and it will most likely cost them a significant chunk of change to find out.
Loading ...
