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NVIDIA Updates SHIELD With Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, Console Mode, New Titles
MojoKid writes "NVIDIA announced a major update to its SHIELD Android gaming device today, with the over-the-air update delivering the latest build of Android (v4.3 Jelly Bean) to the handheld console. NVIDIA also launched GameStream in order to bring more PC titles to streaming devices. Wait, need more? How about SHIELD Gamepad Mapper, which turns touch-based Android games into ones that can be enjoyed with SHIELD's console-quality controls. Alongside that Android update comes Console Mode, which turns SHIELD into a portable living room game console. Users will be able to pair up a Bluetooth controller, kick back on the couch, indulge in Android games, browse the Web, and watch your favorite movies all at 1080p."
will the sword of Fargoal penetrate it http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Sword_of_Fargoal
I got to the chocolate box before you, that's why the hard ones have teeth marks.
And here I thought Console Mode means running vim and bash.
Things have not "taken off" for the SHIELD but maybe being up to date with Android might help.
Not the SHIELD I was hoping for. ;-)
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
We've contacted all five users of nVidia Shield and they're quite happy with the update.
I don't understand the hate for SHIELD, yes it's expensive and doesn't do any except gaming. But people buy 3DS/2DS and Vita. This is the same but you get to play your existing Android library of games plus stream gaming. How much are 3DS games vs Android games? You'll make back the difference after about 5-10 games.
A $100 price cut. I'm old, I like mobile games, I like emulators, but this is just too dear for me. The Nexus 7 does more for less money (books, magazines, videos, on a screen I'd like to look at for a while, with more storage space) and Chinese tablets like the JXD S7800B add gaming controls to Google Play games.
Why do some OEMs continue to act as if Android games are so great that we'd want to play them on a big screen?
Users (third person plural) will be able to watch your (second person) favorite movies. Does that sound creepy to anyone else?
I've got an HTC One (that's a fine phone), but controls are f'in awful for some games. I can appreciate what many devs are trying to do, but some games simply need physical controls.
I'm very nearly going to buy a MOGA for those, but then that's just some handheld controls applied to a few games.
I *love* the idea of being able to stream my games from my PC to a handheld within my house, and decent controls chucked in, but... well it's really f'in obvious what the issue is. Most of the tech in the shield is already approximated in my phone and if I chucked on a MOGA than as far as I can see "I've bought a Shield" hardware-wise. Just seems wasteful to buy the hardware all over again.
What nVidia should be doing is adding the remote streaming in as a Tegra4 function. If the HTCTwo, or Galaxy5 gave me the streaming ability, and I just had to pick up a MOGA, then I'd be happy as a pig in shit (and it would certainly influence my choice of my *next* phone).
SHIELD Gamepad Mapper is the feature I have been waiting for!
For years I have been frustrated with having to retrain my reflexes when switching between similar console games like FPS, or beat'em ups. One game insists on throwing grenades with button X or Z the other one with A or B. Or in the heat of the battle, instead of hitting your enemy on the head, you find yourself ducking cowardly, just because you are so used to playing a similar game with a different button layout. Add to that the fact that I am left-handed and not even all games support switching of analog sticks.
So, yes, freely configurable buttons ARE important for me!
The SHIELD is the first handheld in history with two analog sticks and freely remappable buttons. This makes it stand out BIG TIME from the rest. Reason to buy for me.
NVIDIA Updates SHIELD With Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, Console Mode, New Titles
Why can't they update SHIELD with Captain America, Hulk and Thor?
Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
Karma: Chameleon
The Shield reminds me of the Xperia Play that I bought almost 3 years ago. I thought that it was going to be the start of real mobile phone gaming, but sony treated it a a stepchild. The hardware was mediocre at best, and the screen was the worst kind of LCD. But it was a convenient machine. I really hoped to see either a Play 2, or another company tackle the a gameing phone.
if they make the hardware available perhaps some games Android controller-based games will be developed
You could start by running homebrew NES games in an NES emulator for Android. (Disclosure: I have developed such games.) Or if you have a Retrode cartridge reader, you can use those to copy Super NES and Genesis carts from a retro games store to your Android device and emulate those.
Other users being able to load your film recommendations into their respective queues doesn't sound so creepy in today's share-happy Facebook/Twitter culture, and not in the blog culture that preceded it. If you like a web page about a movie or post about your favorite movies, whoever follows your posts might get an idea of what to watch next.
All I know is I bought the device and it's pretty nice for what it is. It may not be the greatest thing but it works and does what it's supposed to do for me. Most other gadgets I buy like the shield aren't build this great and it feels like a really solid device and won't break very easy. I'm happy and the update went in smoothly for me with no problems at all.
~~ Behold the flying cow with a rail gun! ~~
Why can't they update SHIELD with Captain America, Hulk and Thor?
Because that's Disney's job. Disney can choose to make a SHIELD game for the SHIELD handheld, but I guess a major studio would see better ROI in Nintendo 3DS.
You've heard of Pirate Bay, right?
I was talking about what NVIDIA is allowed to promote for its handheld. A company can advertise legal uses for its product, not infringing uses. See MGM v. Grokster.
You have the library of games published by Sony and Nintendo licensees. It's historically been far less expensive for an indie developer to get a game onto Google Play Store than onto Sony's and Nintendo's store. For instance, Nintendo wouldn't let Robert Pelloni develop Bob's Game for the DS because his business was home-based.
Most people who would buy a Shield already own a smartphone where they can get that game if they really want it.
In what sense do you mean "not anywhere near the level"? Please clarify.
Here's an example 3DS game that will be out for the platform soon. There's nothing on Android that's going to compete with that. Not even iOS gets much in the way of larger games, and most of the ones that they do get are ports of old console games. Most of what's available for phones are $.99 apps that are designed to be an easy way to kill ten minutes. There's nothing wrong with that, but we haven't seen very many games that are more sophisticated than that, and most of the ones that have come out are console ports.
Because your good gaming PC is a desktop PC stuck on a desk in a different room of your home, and a Shield thin client is cheaper than a gaming laptop.
And a 50 ft. HDMI cable and wireless mouse/keyboard are even cheaper. Besides, the people who want to game on their TV in the living room likely already have a console. Would they really want to drop another $300 just to be able to stream from their PC assuming that they even have a good gaming PC or an NV graphics card?
I'm not sure what you meant by "most". What would a mouse do for a platformer like Mega Man or Castlevania series or a fighting game like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat series? And if player 1 is using a mouse and keyboard, what do players 2-4 use?
There are certainly genres of games where a controller works better, but those types of games usually aren't the popular PC titles that most people play and many of those games aren't released for PC. Of the PC titles listed as supported by Shield, it looks like almost all of them are also available for console and many are FPS games where a keyboard/mouse combination works better. The types of games that would work best on Shield usually aren't ported to the PC and even the Android games for the device are either ports of old console games or available for other Android devices.
The Nvidia Shield is a solution looking for a problem. To use half of the features requires a gaming PC with Nvidia hardware that's already going to provide a better experience for the titles available for it than using a controller. The Android game library is nowhere near large enough to justify a $300 purchase price, especially when most of those games can already be played on your phone. It does a lot of things, but it does them all worse than other solutions making the market for the device rather limited.
Here's an example 3DS game that will be out for the platform soon. There's nothing on Android that's going to compete with that.
A Link Between Worlds looks a polished follow-up to A Link to the Past. But so does Ittle Dew is on OUYA, an Android-based minor game console.
Most of what's available for phones are $.99 apps that are designed to be an easy way to kill ten minutes.
I wonder how much of that is because point-and-click input lends itself toward such short, simple games. The other problem is failure of Google Play Store to supported priced apps in more countries at launch. This forced developers to offer their apps without charge with advertisements, which in turn lowered end users' price expectations across the board.
And a 50 ft. HDMI cable and wireless mouse/keyboard are even cheaper.
Provided you happen not live in an area where only licensed electricians are allowed to cut holes in walls, and provided your landlord happens to let you cut a hole through the wall, and provided you can somehow solve the ground loop problem that adolf pointed out. These problems may have a solution; I just can't think of it at the moment.
Besides, the people who want to game on their TV in the living room likely already have a console.
That's fine until you look at the web site of the game you want to buy and see "PC: Buy Now! Consoles: We are seeking a publisher to bring $TITLE to consoles." Or "PC: Buy Now! $COMPETING_CONSOLE: Buy Now!" and no mention of the console that one happens to already own.
The Nvidia Shield is a solution looking for a problem.
The problem is lack of a platform for controller-oriented games that's both well-known and indie-friendly. OUYA didn't take off nearly as well as I'd hoped. Some developers have been forced to completely reimagine their games to be point-and-click because that's what phones and PCs are good at.
To use half of the features requires a gaming PC with Nvidia hardware
Likewise, to use some features of the Game Boy Advance required a GameCube and link cable.
The Android game library is nowhere near large enough to justify a $300 purchase price
The same is true of the launch of any console that doesn't have a lot of compelling back-compat to fall back on. Or did Nintendo expect people to buy a 3DS for $250 and play DS games on it all day?
OS update adds the console gaming functionality to a gaming console, that's fascinating. I hope other platforms follow suite, e.g. that Mozilla Firefox 25 brings web browsing to the table, or that Windows 8.1's notepad can write to files.
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