NVIDIA is announcing a new portable game console. Running vanilla Android, and obviously NVIDIA’s Tegra 4 processor, it was revealed at the last few minutes of the press conference – much to the excitement of NVIDIA fans (one shouted “take my money”).
“As a company, we’re really the only company in the world who has the processor technology, the system software technology, and the gamers within it to build devices that can allow us to enjoy games in a very different way,” NVIDIA’s Jen-Hsun Huang said in front of the press conference.
While it does feature a 5-inch 720p touchscreen with retina display (294dpi), NVIDIA’s main focus is the controller – make it the best as possible. NVIDIA is also trying to make sure that the console is as small as possible, and it is around the same size as most portable consoles. In addition, it has standard I/O ports, including HDMI, microUSB and 3.5mm audio jack.
Also included is an audio system that features Custom Bass Reflex to improve game sound; and will have a battery life of 5-10 hours for games, and 24 hours for video. Project Shield will have access to NVIDIA’s Tegrazone, giving it access to more than 50+ games from developers such as Square Enix, Rockstar and many smaller developers.
In addition, NVIDIA is partnering up with Valve with Project Shield. They developed the Big Picture interface when you connect it to the big screen, and the console will have access to hundreds and hundreds of games through Steam. Yes, you read that right – Steam is on this console. You can also connect to your PC to play any PC games anywhere around the house – and despite the problems when showing off the demo – it should work, according to Huang
Given that it also runs Android, you also have access to a whole bunch of Android apps – including games, but most importantly multimedia apps. You can download Pandora and Spotify, and take your music wherever you are. In America, you can also download Hulu and Netflix to stream movies and TV shows onto the device.
No word on when this will come out, but given that the consoles themselves are due for an update – it needs to get this out, or it will get lost with the PS4 and the Xbox 720. Images below.
