Science & Technology

CES 2013: Nvidia Unveils Project Shield, Its Own Hand-Held Video-Games Console

Nvidia has announced plans to produce its own hand-held video-games console, Project Shield.

Nvidia Project Shield is Android-based and marries a 5 in (12.7 cm) touch-screen with joysticks, buttons and other controls, in a clam-shell design.

It is also designed to link to PCs offering access to more powerful games such as those on the Steam library.

The announcement was a surprise, as the US company has previously focused on selling chips and graphics cards to other manufacturers.

Intel, another chip manufacturer, is also reportedly working on its own device – a television set-top box.

Nvidia’s announcement came at the first major press conference of 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

The company’s chief executive, Jen-Hsun Huang, did not reveal a release date or price for the device, but he did show off a working prototype and outline its specifications.

The console is bigger than an Xbox controller but smaller than the Wii U’s game-pad.

Its screen resolution is 720p, but the machine is capable of playing out games and video in the 4k standard – which offers eight times the detail – on compatible TVs via an HDMI cable.

At its heart is the firm’s new quad-core Tegra 4 chip – which Jen-Hsun Huang described as the fastest mobile processor on the market.

As well as keys representing the standard Android commands, the console also sports a “shield” button that takes users to a curated games store featuring titles selected from the Google Play marketplace. However, it can also be used to run other types of apps – Jen-Hsun Huang gave music players and Facebook as two examples.

Nvidia Project Shield is Android-based and marries a 5 in touch-screen with joysticks, buttons and other controls, in a clam-shell design

Using Wi-Fi it can also be paired with a computer containing one of Nvidia’s GeForce video cards to run PC games. In this case the desktop computer’s processors power the software, offering higher quality graphics than could be rendered by the mobile processor.

Jen-Hsun Huang boasted that “latency was so short it was as if you are connected to the PC” – playing down potential concerns that this kind of set-up might involve a delay between a user pressing a button on the console and the connected PC registering the command.

A demonstration involving titles from Valve’s Steam PC platform appeared to bear this out.

However, to avoid such latency issues, users will only be able to connect the console to a PC on the same home network – although Jen-Hsun Huang said it was an ambition to allow them to go “beyond the house” with future devices.

Nvidia’s move takes advantage of the growing number of games being released for the Android and Windows operating systems without it having to develop its own ecosystem – as is the case with the PlayStation, Wii and Xbox families.

However, it will have to convince consumers that they need a dedicated portable gaming console in addition to their other computing devices.

Earlier this year Sony had to cut sales forecasts for its PlayStation Vita hand-held – analysts linked the news to the growth of gaming on smartphones and tablets.

In addition, one industry watcher suggested Nvidia’s move would prove controversial with hardware makers that currently use its chips.

“It is a bit of a reach for Nvidia as it does not typically involve itself much with the end-user,” said Josh Walrath from the PC Perspective tech site.

“They normally have partners in between. So by doing such a thing you do have to wonder if they’re going to alienate any of their really close partners, and if they have the ability to get consumers to buy into it.”

CdiOCIVLSds 93L_lo-s5rU
Nancy Clayson

Nancy is a young, full of life lady who joined the team shortly after the BelleNews site started to run. She is focused on bringing up to light all the latest news from the technology industry. In her opinion the hi-tech expresses the humanity intellectual level. Nancy is an active person; she enjoys sports and delights herself in doing gardening in her spare time, as well as reading, always searching for new topics for her articles.

Recent Posts

Donald Trump and Elon Musk Celebrate Election Victory at UFC 309

Image source: Wikimedia Commons President-elect Donald Trump celebrated his election victory at the Ultimate Fighting…

5 days ago

White House 2024: Donald Trump Wins, Kamala Harris Calls Him to Concede Election

Millions of voters across the US chose to return Donald Trump to the White House…

2 weeks ago

Who Won? Donald Trump Declares Victory as He Addresses Jubilant Supporters in Florida

Donald Trump declares victory in the US election as he addresses jubilant supporters in Florida.…

2 weeks ago

Stocks Soaring as Donald Trump Closes in on US Victory

Stocks around the world are rising as Donald Trump appears to be on the cusp…

2 weeks ago

Who Won? Kamala Harris Cancels Election Night Party as Path to Victory Narrows

Donald Trump has won Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia and taken a lead over Kamala…

2 weeks ago

Quincy Jones Dead at 91

Quincy Jones, the celebrated musician and producer who worked with Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Ray…

2 weeks ago