Nvidia takes on PS4 and Xbox One by releasing 'Shield' PC gaming tablet
Nvidia today released the ‘Shield’ gaming tablet, the world's most powerful gaming handheld, which can stream games from a PC, working as a portable receiver with a wireless controller.
The Shield will mainly compete with Valve's Steam box
The tablet, Nvidia’s first to be sold outside of the US, will provide ‘near console’ graphics despite data being compressed to be sent via Wi-Fi.
The 32GB tablet with a 4G chip will cost £299, whereas the 16GB tablet will retail at £229. The Wi-Fi controller will cost an additional £50.
The 'Shield' tablet also functions like a traditional device, offering access to Google Play, where users can download thousands of apps including Netflix and Pandora. Bundled with the system is adventure game ‘Trine 2: Complete Story’.
It's unclear how much success the 'Shield' will see, as among others it will be competing directly with PS4, Xbox One and the Steambox.
Time will tell if portable PC gaming will take off. Tablets. as a platform, are becoming more ad friendly with an estimated 400 per cent increase in ad spending this year.
Jen-Hsun Huang, co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia, said: “If you're a gamer and you use a tablet, the Nvidia Shield tablet was created specifically for you.
“It delivers exceptional tablet performance and unique gaming capabilities to keep even the most avid gamers deeply immersed, anywhere they play.”
The tablet and accessories are available to pre-order now in the UK and will be released on 14 August.