First appeared on www.NerdyButFlirty.com
Nvidia is ambitious. And I like it.
As I made my way around the giant booth, two things really stood out to me. One: Nvidia really gets gamers. They know what we want, they know what’s missing in our lives, and they know how to ‘turn us on,’ so to speak. Second: holy crap, I’m never going to be a functional human being again.
The keyword of the day was mobile, and not just in the sense of a phone or a handheld, but in the sense that, if Nvidia has their way, all your games will truly be mobile. From the handheld SHIELD, to the streaming service they’re building with cable companies, to the connectivity between your computer, big screen TV and your games, they seem to have thought of everything.
The Grid
Imagine cloud gaming that works with your network provider to turn any PC, Mac, tablet, smartphone, or TV into a gaming console. That’s the future Nvidia imagines.
GRID renders 3D games in cloud servers, encodes each frame instantly, and streams to any device with a wired or wireless broadband connection. This means no digital downloads, no installation, no patches – just streaming.
And this isn’t just a pipe dream. They’re already working on deals with major cable companies to get this show on the road.
The SHIELD
A true portable gaming system that is also a full-sized controller, SHIELD utilizes the Tegra 4, touted as the world’s fastest mobile processor. The ultra-fast wireless is to prevent lag when streaming games, and the unit will utilize Android’s Jelly Bean operating system, meaning you can access all of the Android applications and games.
Now here’s where this “me never leaving the game” steps in. I will be able to play my computer games on the SHIELD. I can essentially use it as a controller, or I can get up and go lie on my bed and play using the SHIELD’s screen. Or I can go use the bathroom and take it with me. Or take it on the bus. Or to work. Or to my work bathroom.
Do you see how dangerous this device is? From the demos, it seems a little bit of a quicker step than the Vita to PS4 step will be, because you’re actually playing the game on your SHIELD, but we’ll be able to compare them more after the PS4 comes out.
Oh, what’s that you say? They will probably only have crappy games? Um…look at this list. Yeah. Yeah that’s a real legit list of games right there, all the kind of games I wouldn’t mind snuggling up in my bed with until 3 A.M., with none of the neck or back strain that sitting up requires. Don’t look at me like that, you’re probably in no better shape.
I hope to tell you much more about the SHIELD when I get one of my very own. So stay tuned!
The World of Tomorrow
Nvidia almost scares me. The GRID, SHIELD, and other technology, if successful, may change the way we game. There’s no need for the console wars if you don’t need a console, and you don’t need to buy handheld versions of your consoles, like the Vita aims to be. In the world of tomorrow, every smart device could become a game console.
And I will never have a life again. I’m sure they were trying not to laugh as I stood there, flabbergasted by the new technology they were explaining. How will I eat? How will I sleep? How will I force myself to have human interaction?