Nvidia Announces New Shield Ship Date
Nvidia's Shield handheld is shipping at the end of the month.
Nvidia's Jason Paul reported on Sunday that the company's delayed Android gaming handheld Shield is now in full production and will begin shipping on July 31. The console was originally slated to arrive on June 27, but was pushed back a month due to what the company called a "third-party mechanical component". Nvidia said it would ship in July, but did not provide an exact date.
"Last month, we made the difficult decision to delay the launch of Shield due to a mechanical issue we found in our rigorous testing process," Paul said. "Since then we have been working non-stop to put Shield through its paces and ensure it meets the highest quality control standards in the industry."
He also said that Shield Experience Centers will be established in select Gamestop, MicroCenter and MicroCenter and Canada Computers brick-and-mortar locations in the U.S. and Canada so that gamers can get a hands-on taste of the Android device. Order now through a Shield Experience Center or online, and customers will get a limited-edition Shield t-shirt, while supplies last.
Unfortunately, these Experience Centers are limited in number. On the east coast, there are a total of seven so far spanning GameStop and MicroCenter. On the west coast, there are only six, all residing at GameStop. Eight additional locations are spread out across central America and at three locations in Canada. Exact locations are listed here.
In mid-June Nvidia reduced Shield's retail price point, dropping the cost from $349 down to $299. Paul said the new price is in response to feedback the company received from gamers and the press who have fondled the device since it was first introduced back at CES 2013 in January.
"Feedback from gamers is why Shield’s triggers have the perfect throw length. Why Shield’s buttons have just the right amount of give. Why Shield’s thumb sticks are so satisfying to flick. Why playing games on Shield’s pure Android software feels so slick," said Paul.
Shield is essentially a 5-inch 720p flip-up tablet crammed into a game controller sporting a Tegra 4 SoC, dual-band Wireless N connectivity, 16 GB of internal storage, 2 GB of RAM, Bluetooth 3.0, mini-HDMI output, integrated speakers and more. It's the second in a string of Android consoles launching in 2013, and follows the OUYA which, unlike Shield's pure Android "Jelly Bean" and support for Google Play, has a custom Android-based interface and doesn't support Google Play purchases.
Not ever interested on hand held game systems.
Nvidia should concentrate in graphic cards.
I'm not. It looks like an Android tablet with an XBOX controller attached to it.
But they'll say if I'm at home I could have the benefit of playing PC games in places like the crapper. If I'm at home I'll be playing games on the PC or console! My piles are bad enough already thanks.
The focus should have been putting a SOC in the device with real power and then bringing developers on board to make games that I really want to play with the controller.
I suspect many who read this are also.
And would rather wait and bypass the shield with this in mind.
I don`t think it will be a big success for Nvidia, it`s a bit late in the day considering the amount of android devices currently in the market. At $299 it`s going to struggle to sell in large numbers.
But they'll say if I'm at home I could have the benefit of playing PC games in places like the crapper. If I'm at home I'll be playing games on the PC or console! My piles are bad enough already thanks.
The focus should have been putting a SOC in the device with real power and then bringing developers on board to make games that I really want to play with the controller.
Games of the future will concentrate on the controller because now all phones/tablets can use one. The first galaxy S4 video I saw was a samsung employee demoing an xbox controller hooked to it and playing on the TV...LOL. This will be the direction of the future mobile games with both NV and google pushing it (along with obviously samsung etc). The point for these guys is to have a handheld that also does the job of a console when inside the house. Someone has to release the device BEFORE the games can be made for it right? Do you expect a bunch of gamepad android games without the device being in circulation FIRST? Cart before the horse in your mind I guess? I always though the horse pulled the cart
I suspect many who read this are also.
And would rather wait and bypass the shield with this in mind.
I don`t think it will be a big success for Nvidia, it`s a bit late in the day considering the amount of android devices currently in the market. At $299 it`s going to struggle to sell in large numbers.
Not me, tired of paying $60 for games and now they're going to charge $65-70 for console games. I'll take $0-20 to go please
Considering Titan/780 still fly off the shelves (they sell every titan they make still, NV said they can't make them fast enough and those are $1000!), I'm guessing there are a LOT of customers that want a PC gpu getting to their TV and a lot of them don't have a handheld yet and Vita/3DS suck for browsing etc (any 650 or above can do this and those can be had for under $110 so it's a large audience). 65% of gamers own NV hardware already. If NV is still going to say in this Q what rumors are, they've gained 1% up to 66% now. We'll know in 2 weeks. AMD made ZERO on the graphics division which is purely because they keep giving away FREE GAMES (MORONS). Don't forget the shield device only cost them 10mil to develop. They will only need to sell 100K of these to break even if not less. Based on BOM for Vita and 3DS which are both 170/110 if memory serves they are probably making $100 on this even at $299.
I will be shocked if they don't sell more than 100K of these making it a great investment to push gamepad gaming on android. VERY SMART. I'm guessing they sell over a million in 12months or less. Vita sold 7mil in that time and sucks in comparison power wise, resolution, and can output to TV, PC to TV, can't use all android apps/games etc etc. Anyone considering a handheld has to consider this instead. IT's a no-brainer. IF you own NV hardware and want a handheld an even bigger no-brainer here. Only 5.07% of devs are planning anything for Vita or 3DS (2.84%) while 60% are planning games for mobile. There will be no shortage of stuff to play on these and many will be gamepad games. Even the PS4/Xbox1 are less than 11.5% for planned games. Devs are clearly taking a wait and see on those two after Wiiu tanked 50% in sales after xmas for Q1. That basically says dedicated nintendo lovers bought it, but nobody else. If the same happens to ps4/xbox1 devs will just leave just as they have Wiiu (6.47% planning games for this...LOL):
http://www.sonyps4news.com/2013/03/06/nintendo-fast-losing-developer-support-sonys-consoles-remain-firm/
Your console will cost you $400-500 (or more for enhanced versions no doubt, bigger drives etc) and games will cost you $60+ for ages. That's like saying a cell phone is cheap when it comes free, with most ignoring the fact that you pay $1800-2400 for the 2yr contract thus making it a VERY expensive device. For a poor person (ok even middle class..LOL - they are the new poor today, the old poor are completely destitute), $300+cheapo games are far easier to swallow.