Last month Nvidia unleashed the Shield portable gaming system, a $299 Tegra 4-powered combination dual-analog game pad and touchscreen Android tablet with the ability to stream gameplay directly from a gaming PC. One of those selling points is not like the others.
Following a last-minute delay that pushed the launch from June to July, today Nvidia confirmed with Kotaku that the Shield handheld is officially launching on July 31.
Remember last week, when Nvidia announced their Shield portable Android gaming system was launching tomorrow? Yeah, about that...
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--V02sznqk--/c_fill,g_north,h_358,w_636/18refh3mtv4b3jpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--W0ihmdM7--/c_fill,g_north,h_180,w_320/18refh3mtv4b3jpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--ArTTS5He--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/18refh3mtv4b3jpg.jpg, (large)])
Last month Nvidia's Project Shield Android handheld got a shortened name, a release window of June, and a $349 price tag. With June quickly coming to a close, the Shield is coming in hot on June 27, with $50 knocked off the price to sweeten the deal.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--9gvwJ0zE--/c_fill,g_center,h_358,w_636/18nu4a4oyek9ojpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--fU3pqyY1--/c_fill,g_center,h_180,w_320/18nu4a4oyek9ojpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--nzvYz2wD--/c_fill,g_center,h_77,w_137/18nu4a4oyek9ojpg.jpg, (large)])
Mere days after the announcement of its $350 price tag and June release date, Nvidia's Shield Android handheld is already showing up in the background of popular television shows. Look what Modern Family's Luke Dunphy has traded in his Nintendo 3DS for.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--kYwvlobn--/c_fill,g_north,h_358,w_636/18nnba2q8l3osjpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--L0qXhj57--/c_fill,g_north,h_180,w_320/18nnba2q8l3osjpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--9rgJabjH--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/18nnba2q8l3osjpg.jpg, (large)])
Announced in January as Project Shield, Nvidia's intriguing new handheld now has a price, a June release window, and the promise of Double Fine's Broken Age. Who's ready to spend $350 on a dedicated Android gaming device?
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--y16BlCzO--/c_fill,g_center,h_358,w_636/18ragafe2d7r6jpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--_Z-X76mI--/c_fill,g_center,h_180,w_320/18ragafe2d7r6jpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--16x20HQU--/c_fill,g_center,h_77,w_137/18ragafe2d7r6jpg.jpg, (large)])
Nvidia's Tegra 4-powered Project Shield handheld will be great for playing Android games, but the real draw is streaming PC games from your GeForce PC to the handheld and playing anywhere in your house. I can't wait to play Borderlands 2 in the bathroom without a laptop burning my bare legs.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--A7txtZGa--/c_fill,g_center,h_358,w_636/18aw19fsiuqlmjpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--UBIOzbiQ--/c_fill,g_center,h_180,w_320/18aw19fsiuqlmjpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--J9t31FE3--/c_fill,g_center,h_77,w_137/18aw19fsiuqlmjpg.jpg, (large)])
Nvidia's Project Shield is a curious little device, attempting to toss its hat into a bunch of rings at once. It's taking shots at handheld gaming, console gaming, tablets, and phones. For the most part, it's holding under the strain, but it's hard to imagine going out of your way to use it versus any of those things…
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--uzLMDvvJ--/c_fill,g_north,h_358,w_636/18asi9jbk0tdzjpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--moz4UVE4--/c_fill,g_north,h_180,w_320/18asi9jbk0tdzjpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--XMfWG9bs--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/18asi9jbk0tdzjpg.jpg, (large)])
I don't know about you, but my first thought upon seeing Nvidia's new Shield handheld gaming console was as follows:
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--ZWL-rq2n--/c_fill,g_center,h_358,w_636/18gjessrta8v4jpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--V3YLAUda--/c_fill,g_center,h_180,w_320/18gjessrta8v4jpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--OLKpSzr8--/c_fill,g_center,h_77,w_137/18gjessrta8v4jpg.jpg, (large)])
When Adhesive Games' creative director and co-founder Khang Le took the stage during last night's Nvidia press conference to play the free-to-play mech combat game Hawken on Nvidia's Project Shield handheld, I was confused. This was not the PC game. What the hell was that? Turns out Nvidia ran out of time to mention…
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--I3VGEeeU--/c_fill,g_north,h_358,w_636/18asfpyawrif0jpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--bEwIjatg--/c_fill,g_north,h_180,w_320/18asfpyawrif0jpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--9N9qciFw--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/18asfpyawrif0jpg.jpg, (large)])
So Nvidia has a new gaming handheld on the way, powered by its latest mobile chip and capable of playing Android games and streaming PC games directly from your computer.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--QgdSlsie--/c_fill,g_center,h_358,w_636/18gjesiwq4jdqjpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--bzFdN5yP--/c_fill,g_center,h_180,w_320/18gjesiwq4jdqjpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--mQWFRYA1--/c_fill,g_center,h_77,w_137/18gjesiwq4jdqjpg.jpg, (large)])
Here's the full walkthrough of Nvidia's ridiculous-looking Shield, revealed at CES last night. (And streamed via Twitch.)
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--VKDZ7pq2--/c_fill,g_center,h_358,w_636/18arinf1ex1dwjpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--vz_Lcy6Q--/c_fill,g_center,h_180,w_320/18arinf1ex1dwjpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Ra-6onV4--/c_fill,g_center,h_77,w_137/18arinf1ex1dwjpg.jpg, (large)])
So far, the biggest gaming surprise of CES 2013 is the totally unheralded reveal of Project Shield, the new handheld from Nvidia. Some of the functionality was run down in last night's reports but if you want to know what's inside the thing, then you might get some clues from this very-impressed-with-itself reveal…
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--8OeZmiJe--/c_fill,g_north,h_358,w_636/18aqbq9y5msoljpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--7WUWrFk7--/c_fill,g_north,h_180,w_320/18aqbq9y5msoljpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--IeTyNmT3--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/18aqbq9y5msoljpg.jpg, (large)])
PC hardware company Nvidia dropped quite the CES bombshell tonight, revealing a quirky new gaming handheld that doubles as an Android device as well as a means of streaming your PC games to a portable 720p display.
], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--5K0f90bU--/c_fill,g_north,h_358,w_636/18aqb2doqlms7jpg.jpg, (small)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--Dci_9NsZ--/c_fill,g_north,h_180,w_320/18aqb2doqlms7jpg.jpg, (medium)], [http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--spXWgmOL--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_77,q_80,w_137/18aqb2doqlms7jpg.jpg, (large)])
Nvidia just surprised a whole bunch of people by announcing, of all things, a dedicated gaming handheld during the company's CES press conference.
