One of the first surprises from CES 2013 comes from Nvidia. The company announced it is developing a hand-held gaming console, putting it in competition with Nintendo and Sony. The new device will be able to both run games from itself and send the images to a tv, and stream games from a pc. The new Tegra4 processor will be powering the device, which has it’s own 5-inch screen, speakers, and a controller which looks similar to the ones used on major gaming consoles.
The ability of this device to run both android and pc games is possibly game-changing in the console market. While the Tegra4 cpu will easily be able to run android games, whether the device can stream games from a pc without lag is critical. Supposedly Nvidia will employ some new wifi technology which will eliminate the lag problem. If it works, being able to combine the two different gaming environments onto one device should prove very popular.
The controller will be a plus for android gaming, which typically is difficult to use touch controls for precise actions. If Nvidia can eliminate the lag in pc game streaming, and sell the device at a reasonable price, they may have a winner on their hands. This strategy is similar to what Microsoft is doing with it’s Surface tablets, as companies look to expand both the market for their goods, and control how their products are sold. While Nvidia may annoy some of it’s partners, as Microsoft did when it announced the Surface tablets, Project Sheild is more of a unique device which may start a new market niche.