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| Nvidia's Shield console gets price and release date | Nvidia's Shield console gets price and release date |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| US chipmaker Nvidia has revealed its launch plans for Shield - its handheld video-games console. | US chipmaker Nvidia has revealed its launch plans for Shield - its handheld video-games console. |
| It says the Android-powered device will ship to North America in June and be priced at $349 (£229). | It says the Android-powered device will ship to North America in June and be priced at $349 (£229). |
| That makes it $100 more expensive than Sony's PlayStation Vita and nearly double the cost of Nintendo's 3DS XL. | That makes it $100 more expensive than Sony's PlayStation Vita and nearly double the cost of Nintendo's 3DS XL. |
| One expert said Shield was unlikely to appeal to more than a "niche audience" but it would act as a showpiece for Nvidia's technology. | One expert said Shield was unlikely to appeal to more than a "niche audience" but it would act as a showpiece for Nvidia's technology. |
| The console is equipped with the firm's Tegra 4 chip - its new top-end mobile processor. | The console is equipped with the firm's Tegra 4 chip - its new top-end mobile processor. |
| The ARM-based component features 72 graphic processing unit (GPU) cores and four central processing unit (CPU) cores. Nvidia says this allows it to offer "rich graphics and unbeatable performance". | The ARM-based component features 72 graphic processing unit (GPU) cores and four central processing unit (CPU) cores. Nvidia says this allows it to offer "rich graphics and unbeatable performance". |
| The firm is pitching its chip as an alternative to Qualcomm's popular Snapdragon processors, which are used in high-end Android devices such as Samsung's Galaxy S4 and the HTC One. | The firm is pitching its chip as an alternative to Qualcomm's popular Snapdragon processors, which are used in high-end Android devices such as Samsung's Galaxy S4 and the HTC One. |
| "The market for handheld consoles is struggling in face of competition from smartphones, so the first question you have to ask yourself is what is the market for a dedicated Android gaming device," Ben Parfitt, online editor at games industry trade magazine MCV, told the BBC. | "The market for handheld consoles is struggling in face of competition from smartphones, so the first question you have to ask yourself is what is the market for a dedicated Android gaming device," Ben Parfitt, online editor at games industry trade magazine MCV, told the BBC. |
| "Even if you believe a market exists, $349 is a lot of money. People aren't spending that at the moment on the Wii U which is a home console, I find it hard to believe they'd spend it on a handheld." | "Even if you believe a market exists, $349 is a lot of money. People aren't spending that at the moment on the Wii U which is a home console, I find it hard to believe they'd spend it on a handheld." |
| Streaming PC games | Streaming PC games |
| Shield does offer features not found in either Sony or Nintendo's portable consoles. | Shield does offer features not found in either Sony or Nintendo's portable consoles. |
| Its 5in (12.7cm) screen displays 720p high definition video; it has a more powerful speaker system; and its mini-HDMI port can output 4K resolution visuals to compatible televisions. | Its 5in (12.7cm) screen displays 720p high definition video; it has a more powerful speaker system; and its mini-HDMI port can output 4K resolution visuals to compatible televisions. |
| In addition to running titles available from the Google Play and Tegrazone Android marketplaces, it can also stream more advanced titles bought from Valve's Steam platform and run on a wi-fi connected PC. | In addition to running titles available from the Google Play and Tegrazone Android marketplaces, it can also stream more advanced titles bought from Valve's Steam platform and run on a wi-fi connected PC. |
| "These pieces, put together by a company full of gaming fanatics, add up to an amazing new open platform gaming portable," Nvidia said on is blog. | "These pieces, put together by a company full of gaming fanatics, add up to an amazing new open platform gaming portable," Nvidia said on is blog. |
| After a hands-on test, the Techradar news site praised the variety of controls offered by the device, but noted that its 294 pixel per inch (ppi) resolution screen was outclassed by many smartphones. | After a hands-on test, the Techradar news site praised the variety of controls offered by the device, but noted that its 294 pixel per inch (ppi) resolution screen was outclassed by many smartphones. |
| "That was nothing to sneeze at a few years ago, but now your average smart phone is rocking ppi in the mid-300s," it said. "The new HTC One has 440 ppi." | |
| Mr Parfitt also questioned the appeal of one of its other unique selling points. | Mr Parfitt also questioned the appeal of one of its other unique selling points. |
| "Streaming PC games is something you can't do on rival devices and that is a great feature," he said. | "Streaming PC games is something you can't do on rival devices and that is a great feature," he said. |
| "But you have to have a compatible Nvidia graphics card in your PC - one of the reasonably new ones - so that will cut down the audience for that. And do the people who invest in high-end gaming on PCs want a portable as well? I don't know." | "But you have to have a compatible Nvidia graphics card in your PC - one of the reasonably new ones - so that will cut down the audience for that. And do the people who invest in high-end gaming on PCs want a portable as well? I don't know." |
| Nvidia said Steam would ship with two titles optimised for the handheld: Sega's Sonic 4 Episode II, and Retrobomb's Expendable Rearmed. | Nvidia said Steam would ship with two titles optimised for the handheld: Sega's Sonic 4 Episode II, and Retrobomb's Expendable Rearmed. |
| It added that it had started taking pre-orders from selected customers, and would open up sales to others from 20 May. | It added that it had started taking pre-orders from selected customers, and would open up sales to others from 20 May. |