Sadly, Nick Fury has nothing to do with this project. Instead, this Project SHIELD is NVIDIA’s upcoming entry into the handheld gaming market, with what they call “the world’s first gaming portable for open platforms.”
Unveiled yesterday in Las Vegas, Project SHIELD is a badass looking piece of equipment that is designed to play Windows PC and Android games, many of which can be downloaded directly from NVIDIA’s TegraZone™ game store. It may have picked up a trick or two from the Wii-U as well, as the SHIELD can also play games streamed from your PC over a local network
The device resembles a hybrid between an X-Box 360 and PS3 controller, with a small HD screen build right into it. That screen, by the way, folds very neatly down into the controller, kind of like DS. Though it appears to be a bit bulkier than even the 3DS XL.
Jen-Hsun Huang, co-founder and chief executive officer at NVIDIA said, “We were inspired by a vision that the rise of mobile and cloud technologies will free us from our boxes, letting us game anywhere, on any screen. We imagined a device that would do for games what the iPod and Kindle have done for music and books, letting us play in a cool new way.
I thought it was cute when the MG came out back in November, promising to make Android gaming more serious. I was caught off guard by the bold retro offering of the NeoGeo X just before Christmas. But now I’m simply floored by how many companies are sticking their necks into the handheld wars.
SHIELD is still in Beta, so I can’t formulate any definitive opinions about it, but I will say that I’m not convinced this is a fight worth entering, no matter how cool of a device you may have (and this one looks mighty cool). If SHIELD has any kind of edge, it would be the fact that it targets a different kind of gamer – one that might not have clung to any pocket system to date. I also notice that NVIDIA took notes from all the most successful gaming products out there, adding a slice of DNA from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.
As yet, there is no information regarding the release date or price of this product. You can find out more about Project SHILED on the official site.
What do you think of this device? Are you interested in playing PC/Android games on the go? Tell us in the comments below!
January 9, 2013 at 8:55 AM
sooo…Im confused what this is. It plays Windows and Android games? Like games youd find on the Windows store or whatever for a Windows phone? Is this just a thing for playing games youd normally download onto your smartphone?
January 9, 2013 at 3:40 PM
No, it plays PC games as well. So it kind of acts like the Wii U tablet in that it can stream games right off your PC and you can play wherever in your house. But that sounds less useful than the Wii U tablet in my opinion, since the tablet at least frees up a TV. This frees up a computer, and I feel that has less competition around the house.
January 9, 2013 at 11:57 PM
Oh, I see. that makes sense.