CES is under way, and Nvidia quickly become the cock of the walk, announcing their intention to expand their foray into gaming by introducing a brand new device, the SHIELD.
"It's pure Android," said Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang. The company plans on the SHIELD coming pre-loaded with the Android Jelly Bean OS from Google, "providing access to all your favorite Android applications and games," almost like an on-the-go Ouya.
The library of games will consist of essentially anything that can be found on Google Play or Tegrazone. But with apps that let you simply hook up any number of controllers to a Droid device, and a short lifespan of only 5 to 10 hours, SHIELD may be relegated as a simple gizmo even before it's readily available.
Apart from Tegra 4, the SHIELD's only true challenge to Sony and Nintendo in the handheld gaming market may be its ability to allow you to access and play any of your PC games. Factor in Steam, and it seriously ups the device's potential library in both quantity and quality. The only downplay is that this feature will only work for PCs with compatible GeForce graphics cards, so an upgrade may be necessary for some. Coupling that with the device's reliance on WiFi to play the titles may not make this the first choice for your gaming fix on the morning subway ride. If you're a bus kind of guy, then I can only writhe with envy at the thought of you playing Skyrim on the go.
It all sounds well and good, but this may not be the wonderous gizmo Nvidia is promoting it to be. At this stage, the SHIELD seen at CES was only a prototype, so some features may change down the road. They also have yet to announce any price details. It may not be a console killer, but it's definitely something to watch over the next few weeks.
Check out the video below of Nvidia trying their best to sexify this hard-to-stuff-in-your-pocket device.
