CES 2013: NVIDIA's Android-powered Project SHIELD console streams PC games

Nvidia has announced a new portable gaming device dubbed Project SHIELD. The device is made with the aim to be able to run both Android and PC games. It has access to Google Play for Android games, and acts as a wireless receiver and controller for PC games on systems that are powered by Nvidia GeForce GTX GPUs. It can also access titles from the computer’s Steam games library.

Nvidia’s Project SHIELD plays both Android and Windows games

“Project SHIELD was created by NVIDIA engineers who love to game and imagined a new way to play,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, Co-Founder and CEO at NVIDIA. “We were inspired by a vision that the rise of mobile and cloud technologies will free us from our boxes, letting us game anywhere, on any screen. We imagined a device that would do for games what the iPod and Kindle have done for music and books, letting us play in a cool new way. We hope other gamers love SHIELD as much as we do.”

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With Windows and Android being some of the world’s most successful computing platforms, along with ecosystem of developers, Project SHIELD is designed to allow users to enjoy both Android and Windows Games. It will also have access to Nvidia’s TegraZone game store, which has games with high graphical fidelity that are specially designed with the Tegra processors in mind.

Project SHIELD uses the just-unveiled Tegra 4 processor to offer what the company claims to be a console-grade controller. It can be used to play on its own integrated screen or on a big screen. It has a 5-inch screen with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, giving it a pixel density of 294 dpi. The screen also uses the Tegra 4’s Direct Touch technology to give touch input.