Nvidia Confirms New Gaming Device Coming Soon

By Kevin Parrish
published

Here's what we "know" about the upcoming Nvidia Shield successor based on leaks and sightings. One set of specs include a 7.9-inch screen with a 2048 x 1536 resolution, a Tegra K1 processor with a 192-core GPU, 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of internal storage. The device, presumably a tablet, will also include a 7MP camera on the back and a 4.8MP camera on the front, along with wireless (N or AC) and Bluetooth connectivity.

Yet there's also another set of specs that appeared back in April. This set includes the Tegra K1 chip powering a 1440 x 810 screen, 4 GB of RAM, 16 GB of storage, and a 0.3MP camera. This version may keep the same clam/controller form factor as the original, providing a 5-inch screen that closes shut. However, there's a good chance Nvidia may ditch the controller form for something that's more mainstream, like a tablet.

"I think it's fair to say that Shield sold reasonably poorly," said Ed Barton, a games industry analyst at the consultancy Ovum, while speaking to the BBC. "And if the new device requires your PC to have a relatively new Nvidia GPU to make use of its abilities, that will really limit its addressable market."

On the streaming side, it sounds like the new device will be no different than the Shield. The gaming gadget will use Nvidia's proprietary GeForce Experience technology, which will stream PC games from a desktop or laptop that has a "Kepler" GPU. More specifically, the technology will work on TITAN, the GTX 700 series and select GTX 600 GPUs. On notebooks, streaming will work with the GTX 800M, the GTX 700M, and select GTX 600M GPUs. To stream games in Console Mode at 1080p @ 60 FPS, a GeForce GTX 660 or higher is required, Nvidia states.

Whatever Nvidia plans to release, the company will also offer a separate "budget-priced" controller, according to the BBC. That really doesn't indicate anything new other than Nvidia may be jumping into the peripherals market. Nvidia customers can already pair a third-party Bluetooth controller to their Shield device, emulating a console experience.

Still, the hint of a controller could mean that Nvidia has no intentions of releasing a Shield 2 control-shaped device, but will launch the tablet – which has a bigger screen we might add – with an optional controller dock. Razer does this as well as Wikipad.

The BBC reports that Nvidia would not comment on the Shield rumors, but did say that the company has an "awesome new gaming product that is launching soon." That's a confirmation something Shield-like is brewing, at least.

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Kevin Parrish
15 Comments Comment from the forums
  • mmohon
    How bout a device to stream to my TV, keyboard, and mouse in my living room from my office PC....like steam streaming, but in a tiny single purpose device....on the cheap.
    Reply
  • iceclock
    already got shield. what now

    Reply
  • oxxfatelostxxo
    already got shield. what now
    Enjoy knowing your device is already in the works to become obsolete
    Reply
  • RoxasForTheWin
    Really hope it's a shield 2. Tablets just don't cut it for me
    Reply
  • knowom
    The April specs are better imo 4GB ram seems more useful than the unnecessary extra resolution which hopefully will have HDMI.
    Reply
  • Third-Eye
    How bout a device to stream to my TV, keyboard, and mouse in my living room from my office PC....like steam streaming, but in a tiny single purpose device....on the cheap.
    Steam In-home streaming already does this pretty well and from my own testing works with non-steam games you add yourself. All you need is a computer that meets the minimum specs required to stream from your office computer. A tiny Intel NUC for like $300-350 with an i3 would do the job perfectly assuming you have good wireless N signal or can run Ethernet cable. An older system with say a socket 939 Athlon 64 2.8GHZ or better and a cheap but new PCIE AMD or Nvidia card would work too.
    Reply
  • airborne11b
    I'm hoping this is a new SHIELD device that's a tablet with a built on controller, or an attachable controller. So it would just be like the smaller SHIELD device we already have, but you'd hold it like a Wii U controller, or Razer Edge. Basically the same concept of the current shield, but with a much larger screen and maybe the possibility for it to double as a high powered android tablet too.
    Reply
  • Bondfc11
    I hope this SHIELD device allows me to call in ScarJo as Black Widow.
    Reply
  • jasonelmore
    i hope they continue to make the clamshell version, because nobody else does it. i hate having 3-5 things to pack around to replace the clamshell design.
    Reply
  • airborne11b
    i hope they continue to make the clamshell version, because nobody else does it. i hate having 3-5 things to pack around to replace the clamshell design.

    The clamshell design is nice in some ways, but the screen is way too small for PC game streaming. I'd also note that there isn't any game out, or coming out, or any feature this new SHIELD 2 will have that the current one isn't capable of handling.

    SHIELD 1 is only a year old. A new tablet form factor makes more sense than revising a product that 1. Didn't sell well and 2. Is less than a year old.

    I think a Razer-Edge style SHIELD would be a great addition to the line up. Appeal to people looking for a high powered tablet as well as nice PC / android gaming portable device with physical control built onto it. It'd also give SHIELD owners a real reason to buy SHIELD 2. No one is going to buy a new clamshell version.

    If you didn't get the last SHIELD, the same thing with a little more processing power isn't going to cut it as far as getting a consumer interested. It's not like there's some hot game library out there that can't be played on a SHIELD. It's currently the fastest TEGRA device out there lol.
    Reply