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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Nvidia Shield mini review: 10 reasons why Nvidia Shield is the best gaming handheld you can buy

Solid-Stark on 13 August 2013

disolitude said:

I was riping on you about playing uncharted on the bus, train and on the go...that still sounds rediculous to me. I'd take angry birds or solitare on the bus over uncharted any day. That is how kids fall down on train tracks...

I haven't played any of my portables while in transportation or while walking (as you seem to think it is the only way one plays a portable "on the go"). Only while waiting for someone somewhere, at a friends house, or when I'm bored on campus with absolutely nothing to do or sociallize between classes. If you are embarrased to be seen with a portable gaming console because you think you will be seen as a man child, then just say so since it's psychological on your part. Absolutely hilarious.

However the PC gaming on the Shield is an in home experience, for the times you can't or don't want to sit at your PC. 

Because that is all to common? Either way I agree that pc streaming is a pro.

Being "ugly" is something thats in the eye of the beholder, but the bottom line is who cares if its ugly? The controls and design isn't just "functional". It destroys 3DS and PSP in terms of comfort, layout and ability to play full console type games. That is what matters... don't have to fiddle with cramped brick like handheld design or tiny analog sticks that isn't meant for people with medium to large sized hands.

I kinda do care if it's ugly, and I reckon many others do as we commonly see such statements toward devices. (kinda like previous console controllers). But you have a point, if it works then so be it. On a tangent, that's why I have a 3DS XL.

Also you have a phone that doesn't have buttons to play Android games the same way Shield does.  You can pick up a Moga controller and do it ghetto style or maybe make one of these yourself - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luyDKZxf28I

My point was that I simply don't do app gaming much if at all (I don't take those games seriously at all). And all figures would point that app gaming is big but it is done by casuals. The Shield is not for casuals. Since it's for the hardcore, they have not convinced the majority, or the crowd Nvidia is targeting, that they need/want a Shield.

I personally though wouldn't want to bother with any DIY solutions, nor would I want to waste my phones battery on gaming when I'm traveling. 

I do like the Shields battery life; it's something other manufacturers shouldn't skimp on with their devices.

Personally, like I said, I need to see console competing exclusive Shield games before I consider buying one. Also, I'd wait for the Shield 2 so that they can fix some thinghs that you outlined on your OP; and the Tegra 5's Kepler based graphics will be phenomenal (they demoed Battlefield 3 running on it). I'd like to use the shield to play PC games natively without having to rely on the PC for it's use (for PC games).



e=mc^2

Gaming on: PS4 Pro, Switch, SNES Mini, Wii U, PC (i5-7400, GTX 1060)

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Frogger on 13 August 2013

The thing's gonna bomb. The Vita tried to be a "hardcore" handheld. Look how that turned out. Nvidia having more selling power than Sony or Nintendo just because it's more powerful and is an open system? Power has anything to do with sales? Lol, that's like saying PC will dominate the industry because- Oh, wait. Nvm.



JoeTheBro on 13 August 2013
disolitude said:
papamudd said:
So far its sold about 30 units at two stores in my location... Only 22 stores in the country are selling the device, but u can but it online.
Also emulators ruin great on thus thing! Quad core cpu (tegra 4) 16 core gpu and 2 gigs of ram... Makes it more powerful than px360

Yeah I was told they sold really well. I had to preorder mine ahead of time and wait a week after launch to get it from Canada Computers. And the only reason why I got it is because a friend of mine works there who put one aside for me even though other people were ahead of the preorder line...hehe. 

They are still sold out as are other canadian retailers that carry it - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=13_195_199&item_id=060492

Only place in Canada that has them for delivery and in stock right now is Newegg.

Dude you should have asked me to ship you one! My store started selling them a month ago before the launch was pushed back. They had a solid supply too.



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Mr Puggsly on 13 August 2013
disolitude said:
Mr Puggsly said:
I'm not really impressed with it.

I like the idea of a Android based handheld console, but not at that price.

Nvidia should have allowed games to be streamed on more devices. Like laptops and major smart phone operating systems.

Not sure what their goal is, but I don't see this being much of a success.

Their goal is:

1. To offer value, incentive for people buying their GTX GPU's

2. Provide a gaming dev platform for the Tegra chipset

3. Bridge the gap between PC and mobile gaming

The number of units this sells isn't very relevant at all.

Nvidia will allow streaming on more devices like laptops soon, as long as they are running the latest GPUs. Tegra 4 based tablets are the next step (once they came out). I am not sure which point of yours isnt going to be addressed other than the price...

However when considering the price you have to factor in that Nvidia isn't making royalties on software and can't sell this at a loss to make money later. Also the build quality, screen, speakers, battery life on this thing indicates its worth every penny. They did not go cheap like other android gaming devices...

I doubt Tegra 4 hardware is actually needed for Nvidia's PC streaming. Isn't just streaming video? Much like what we see on Wii U and OnLive.

 

Look at this app for Android. The video shows a tablet playing Diablo 3 via PC streaming.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.splashtop.remote.pad.v2



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famousringo on 13 August 2013
disolitude said:
RolStoppable said:

I see you put a lot of work into this thread, so I will counter all of your points thoroughly.

The Nvidia Shield doesn't play Nintendo games legally.

Thanks for reading.

I'm sorry I can't hear you...I'm playing Arcade perfect version of Killer Instinct on Nvidia Shield and the speakers are awesomely loud. 


That's so they can be heard over the fan, right?



"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event."  — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
*Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.

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landguy1 on 13 August 2013

Device looks OK(in pictures) but i need to do a hands on to see for sure. Like others have said, telling me that it will play android apps was the killer for me. I do know that they are way better than just a year ago. The problem is that until enough of the smartphones have powerful enough processors, the games won't show up that are really good anyway. So it will be much better idea in about 2 years.



disolitude on 13 August 2013
Mr Puggsly said:
disolitude said:
Mr Puggsly said:
I'm not really impressed with it.

I like the idea of a Android based handheld console, but not at that price.

Nvidia should have allowed games to be streamed on more devices. Like laptops and major smart phone operating systems.

Not sure what their goal is, but I don't see this being much of a success.

Their goal is:

1. To offer value, incentive for people buying their GTX GPU's

2. Provide a gaming dev platform for the Tegra chipset

3. Bridge the gap between PC and mobile gaming

The number of units this sells isn't very relevant at all.

Nvidia will allow streaming on more devices like laptops soon, as long as they are running the latest GPUs. Tegra 4 based tablets are the next step (once they came out). I am not sure which point of yours isnt going to be addressed other than the price...

However when considering the price you have to factor in that Nvidia isn't making royalties on software and can't sell this at a loss to make money later. Also the build quality, screen, speakers, battery life on this thing indicates its worth every penny. They did not go cheap like other android gaming devices...

I doubt Tegra 4 hardware is actually needed for Nvidia's PC streaming. Isn't just streaming video? Much like what we see on Wii U and OnLive.

 

Look at this app for Android. The video shows a tablet playing Diablo 3 via PC streaming.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.splashtop.remote.pad.v2

GTX 600 gpu or higher is needed to make this work as those cards have a dedicated decoder chip. Link you sent for Splashtop only allows 800x600 streaming to be playable at all and even at that resolution it lags at least 0.5 seconds. Online plays off a dedicated internet server while this plays locally...big difference. 

Nvidia may not need Tegra 4 to do this, but im sure they want to control the user experience. Making this available on all and lower end devices with slow Wifi antenas will not be good for anyone. Plus why not leverage a product to promote your current and future products? Nothing worngwith that...



disolitude on 13 August 2013
famousringo said:
disolitude said:
RolStoppable said:

I see you put a lot of work into this thread, so I will counter all of your points thoroughly.

The Nvidia Shield doesn't play Nintendo games legally.

Thanks for reading.

I'm sorry I can't hear you...I'm playing Arcade perfect version of Killer Instinct on Nvidia Shield and the speakers are awesomely loud. 


That's so they can be heard over the fan, right?

har har... No its passively cooled and stays quite cool...like an average high end smartphone. 



disolitude on 13 August 2013
spemanig said:
The thing's gonna bomb. The Vita tried to be a "hardcore" handheld. Look how that turned out. Nvidia having more selling power than Sony or Nintendo just because it's more powerful and is an open system? Power has anything to do with sales? Lol, that's like saying PC will dominate the industry because- Oh, wait. Nvm.

Your post is so out of touch its commical.

It will bomb how exactly? This isn't some market changing, ground breaking device that needs to move 30 million units to break even... its a cool little portable gaming system that does a few neat tricks never done before. Nvidia is making most of the hardware and are selling it for $299 hence I am sure they are profiting on every device sold.

By making this device they get to sell their Tegra 4 chips at retail themselves, they sell more graphics cards to people who may be interested in this, plus they offer a cool product. They can probably sell a couple of million units lifetime and make a profit plus push their other products or services.

So what is your problem? How is this going to bomb? It plays Android and PC games, 2 of the largest and most supported platforms on the market. It will have game support for the next decade.



Soleron on 13 August 2013
disolitude said:

couple of million units lifetime 

It won't sell 100k