During GDC 2015, Nvidia took to the stage to announce a console which completes their ‘SHIELD‘ line-up of gaming hardware. The set-top box is powered by the state-of-the-art Tegra X1, it has 50 blockbuster PC titles ported to it at launch, it can stream PC games via Nvidia’s GRID service, it can run Android games, it’s just $199, and it could face a problem from Sony.
The main allure to gamers will be the ability to stream the latest games via a console priced at just $199. Sony’s PlayStation 4 is the only other console, currently, which can offer that functionality through PlayStation Now (albeit at an initial cost of $399.)
PlayStation Now is a game-streaming service which can stream hundreds of PS3 games to the PS4 either rented individually, or accessed via a monthly subscription. Although PS4 games are sure to be added as the roster of titles available on the system grows, the amount of PC games which Nvidia offers via GRID grows every Tuesday with newer releases.
So what’s the problem for Nvidia? Sony could see GRID as a competitor to PlayStation Now and have it shut-down. GRID’s game-streaming is powered by Gaikai, PlayStation Now is powered by Gaikai, and Sony owns Gaikai after a $380 million acquisition back in 2012.
This would relegate Nvidia’s SHIELD line-up to Android’s mobile games (similar to sub-$99 consoles) and to GRID’s original use of streaming games running on a PC via one of their GPUs (which not everyone has the hardware to support.)
Game streaming is questionable at the moment due to broadband speeds. Most current services are suffering from lag – which disrupts gameplay – and is intolerable in multiplayer scenarios where being a second behind can mean virtual life or death.
Microsoft has been taking a cautious approach with Xbox through offloading local computation to the cloud in smaller doses. At the moment this includes AI in games such as Titanfall and dynamic weather in games such as Forza. During BUILD 2014, Microsoft demonstrated how this is ramping-up in new and innovative ways with a cloud-based destruction presentation which was later revealed as work on the upcoming Crackdown 3…
In a GDC presentation by Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, he spoke of a commitment to deliver Xbox games wherever players are. This of course means to Windows 10 devices – as announced back in January – but could also mean to certain Android devices such as Nvidia’s SHIELD controller. The two companies are working closely on DirectX 12, and the device would make a great mobile contender to the PS Vita…
Do you think Sony would shut down Nvidia’s GRID service? Let us know in the comments.
