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Android Games

NVIDIA Updates SHIELD With Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, Console Mode, New Titles 57

MojoKid writes "NVIDIA announced a major update to its SHIELD Android gaming device today, with the over-the-air update delivering the latest build of Android (v4.3 Jelly Bean) to the handheld console. NVIDIA also launched GameStream in order to bring more PC titles to streaming devices. Wait, need more? How about SHIELD Gamepad Mapper, which turns touch-based Android games into ones that can be enjoyed with SHIELD's console-quality controls. Alongside that Android update comes Console Mode, which turns SHIELD into a portable living room game console. Users will be able to pair up a Bluetooth controller, kick back on the couch, indulge in Android games, browse the Web, and watch your favorite movies all at 1080p."
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NVIDIA Updates SHIELD With Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, Console Mode, New Titles

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  • will the sword of Fargoal penetrate it http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Sword_of_Fargoal [strategywiki.org]
  • by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 28, 2013 @02:58PM (#45262105)

    And here I thought Console Mode means running vim and bash.

    • by Anonymous Coward

      And here I thought Console Mode means running vim and bash.

      Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAvXLqPKxow

  • Not the SHIELD I was hoping for. ;-)

    • Nor was it the 'driods I was looking for.

    • by Jiro ( 131519 )

      I know there are theories that Coulson is actually an LMD. They did, after all, make a point of there being something strange about Coulson, which suggests he could be an android.

      Also, his explanation of surviving seems a little unlikely if you watch the Avengers movie--but the people he told it to would only have heard about his death third-hand, mostly, and it would be more believable to them than it is to us.

  • Reaction (Score:4, Funny)

    by Luthair ( 847766 ) on Monday October 28, 2013 @03:12PM (#45262247)
    We've contacted all five users of nVidia Shield and they're quite happy with the update.
  • by BLToday ( 1777712 ) on Monday October 28, 2013 @03:27PM (#45262369)

    I don't understand the hate for SHIELD, yes it's expensive and doesn't do any except gaming. But people buy 3DS/2DS and Vita. This is the same but you get to play your existing Android library of games plus stream gaming. How much are 3DS games vs Android games? You'll make back the difference after about 5-10 games.

    • I dunno, I buy my DS games at the local thrift store for $3
      I don't have the 3D but my 5yr old doesn't know the difference and that's what this device is geared towards right?
      He's already starting to play some PC games, his only stumbling block is not being able to read. So I don't think it's going to be long before he's done with handhelds just like everyone else. They're fun in that car/bathroom/doctors office, but nothing beats a real PC with a keyboard.

    • People can already play their existing Android library on their phones.
    • How much are 3DS games vs Android games?

      Angry Birds Star Wars 3DS(20 exclusive levels, new mulitplayer mode): $25
      Angry Birds Star Wars Android: free with ads and in app purchases.
      Final Fantasy IV DS: $19
      Final Fantasy IV Android: $16

      • by Jiro ( 131519 )

        Coca-Cola is cheaper in McDonalds than in a normal restaurant. But the restaurant has better meals, including food that the McDonalds could never offer. Comparing the price of one of the few games that exists on both types of system is like comparing the price of the Coke at a McDonalds and a normal restaurant.

        3DS games in general cannot be price-compared to Android games in general. The few examples that are the same game and can be compared are atypical.

    • I don't understand the hate for SHIELD, yes it's expensive and doesn't do any except gaming. But people buy 3DS/2DS and Vita. This is the same but you get to play your existing Android library of games plus stream gaming. How much are 3DS games vs Android games? You'll make back the difference after about 5-10 games.

      With the portable handhelds from Sony and Nintendo you get a much wider library of games that you can take anywhere. Shield's best games require you to have a powerful PC with NVidia hardware and be at home. If you go anywhere with it you're stuck with a handful of Android games which aren't anywhere near the level of what you'll find available on the other handhelds, and if you have an Android phone, you already have something that can play them. Also, if I have a good gaming PC why would I want to stream

      • With the portable handhelds from Sony and Nintendo you get a much wider library of games that you can take anywhere.

        You have the library of games published by Sony and Nintendo licensees. It's historically been far less expensive for an indie developer to get a game onto Google Play Store than onto Sony's and Nintendo's store. For instance, Nintendo wouldn't let Robert Pelloni develop Bob's Game for the DS because his business was home-based.

        Android games which aren't anywhere near the level of what you'll find available on the other handhelds

        In what sense do you mean "not anywhere near the level"? Please clarify.

        Also, if I have a good gaming PC why would I want to stream it to the Shield?

        Because your good gaming PC is a desktop PC stuck on a desk in a different room of your home, and a Shield thi

        • You have the library of games published by Sony and Nintendo licensees. It's historically been far less expensive for an indie developer to get a game onto Google Play Store than onto Sony's and Nintendo's store. For instance, Nintendo wouldn't let Robert Pelloni develop Bob's Game for the DS because his business was home-based.

          Most people who would buy a Shield already own a smartphone where they can get that game if they really want it.

          In what sense do you mean "not anywhere near the level"? Please clarify.

          Here's an example 3DS game [youtube.com] that will be out for the platform soon. There's nothing on Android that's going to compete with that. Not even iOS gets much in the way of larger games, and most of the ones that they do get are ports of old console games. Most of what's available for phones are $.99 apps that are designed to be an easy way to kill ten minutes. There's nothing wrong with that, but we hav

          • Here's an example 3DS game that will be out for the platform soon. There's nothing on Android that's going to compete with that.

            A Link Between Worlds looks a polished follow-up to A Link to the Past. But so does Ittle Dew is on OUYA, an Android-based minor game console.

            Most of what's available for phones are $.99 apps that are designed to be an easy way to kill ten minutes.

            I wonder how much of that is because point-and-click input lends itself toward such short, simple games. The other problem is failure of Google Play Store to supported priced apps in more countries at launch. This forced developers to offer their apps without charge with advertisements, which in turn lowered end users' price expectations across the board.

            And a 50 ft. HDMI cable and wireless mouse/keyboard are even cheaper.

            Provided you

      • Xbox controller you can just plug in, windows will recognize it, PS3 you need to download drivers.
    • I've got an HTC One (that's a fine phone), but controls are f'in awful for some games. I can appreciate what many devs are trying to do, but some games simply need physical controls.
      I'm very nearly going to buy a MOGA for those, but then that's just some handheld controls applied to a few games.
      I *love* the idea of being able to stream my games from my PC to a handheld within my house, and decent controls chucked in, but... well it's really f'in obvious what the issue is. Most of the tech in the shield is
      • by tepples ( 727027 )

        but some games simply need physical controls.
        I'm very nearly going to buy a MOGA for those, but then that's just some handheld controls applied to a few games.

        What's wrong with applying appropriate controls to the games that need it? Or is it just a case of buying a $40 controller to play a $3 game?

    • by Tr3vin ( 1220548 )

      Gamer here. The reason people hate the SHIELD is that mobile games pale in comparison to games for dedicated systems. Having existing android games is a great idea, but it assumes that they work well with game pad input. Since most phones don't have physical buttons, developers have to create for the touch only interfaces if they want to be successful. Sure, you can do virtual touch buttons, but the best mobile games get away from buttons and instead use some form of gesture or swipes to control things. The

    • Making back the difference is no good if the games you want aren't available on Android. Frankly the best tablet games are all aimed at tablet interfaces anyway.

  • A $100 price cut. I'm old, I like mobile games, I like emulators, but this is just too dear for me. The Nexus 7 does more for less money (books, magazines, videos, on a screen I'd like to look at for a while, with more storage space) and Chinese tablets like the JXD S7800B add gaming controls to Google Play games.

  • Why do some OEMs continue to act as if Android games are so great that we'd want to play them on a big screen?
    • It's a chicken & the egg type problem - there's no good android games because there's no good hardware, and there's no good hardware because there's no good android games...

      The hardware makers have to no this won't catch on quickly & right away, but if they make the hardware available perhaps some games Android controller-based games will be developed, which will make the hardware more common, which will make the games more common, and pretty soon everybody's buying better & extra Android device

      • if they make the hardware available perhaps some games Android controller-based games will be developed

        You could start by running homebrew NES games in an NES emulator for Android. (Disclosure: I have developed such games.) Or if you have a Retrode cartridge reader, you can use those to copy Super NES and Genesis carts from a retro games store to your Android device and emulate those.

  • by sideslash ( 1865434 ) on Monday October 28, 2013 @04:35PM (#45262965)
    Users (third person plural) will be able to watch your (second person) favorite movies. Does that sound creepy to anyone else?
    • Other users being able to load your film recommendations into their respective queues doesn't sound so creepy in today's share-happy Facebook/Twitter culture, and not in the blog culture that preceded it. If you like a web page about a movie or post about your favorite movies, whoever follows your posts might get an idea of what to watch next.
  • by Anonymous Coward

    SHIELD Gamepad Mapper is the feature I have been waiting for!
    For years I have been frustrated with having to retrain my reflexes when switching between similar console games like FPS, or beat'em ups. One game insists on throwing grenades with button X or Z the other one with A or B. Or in the heat of the battle, instead of hitting your enemy on the head, you find yourself ducking cowardly, just because you are so used to playing a similar game with a different button layout. Add to that the fact that I am l

  • NVIDIA Updates SHIELD With Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, Console Mode, New Titles

    Why can't they update SHIELD with Captain America, Hulk and Thor?

    • SHIELD - now with added Coulson 2.0

    • Why can't they update SHIELD with Captain America, Hulk and Thor?

      Because that's Disney's job. Disney can choose to make a SHIELD game for the SHIELD handheld, but I guess a major studio would see better ROI in Nintendo 3DS.

  • The Shield reminds me of the Xperia Play that I bought almost 3 years ago. I thought that it was going to be the start of real mobile phone gaming, but sony treated it a a stepchild. The hardware was mediocre at best, and the screen was the worst kind of LCD. But it was a convenient machine. I really hoped to see either a Play 2, or another company tackle the a gameing phone.
  • All I know is I bought the device and it's pretty nice for what it is. It may not be the greatest thing but it works and does what it's supposed to do for me. Most other gadgets I buy like the shield aren't build this great and it feels like a really solid device and won't break very easy. I'm happy and the update went in smoothly for me with no problems at all.
    • by CFBMoo1 ( 157453 )
      I've played my Shield after the updates and things seem to be running nicer then they were before the update. I noticed that things look a little more smoother and crisper even with my finger prints smudged on the screen.
  • OS update adds the console gaming functionality to a gaming console, that's fascinating. I hope other platforms follow suite, e.g. that Mozilla Firefox 25 brings web browsing to the table, or that Windows 8.1's notepad can write to files.

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