Everyone one who purchased the SHIELD from NVIDIA will be pleased with this bit of news: A new update to the platform will unlock support for thousands of Android games! Couple that with the fact that NVIDIA GameStream has officially launched, these are a bit more attractive now are they not?
October 28, 2013 – “There’s no way to match the visceral thrill of taking command of a game with a console-quality controller. That’s why we’ve unleashed a massive update to our SHIELD gaming portable that allows gamers to use SHIELD to take control of thousands more Android games originally designed for touch screens. And that’s just one of the big new features crammed into our latest software update, available now. Fans of big-screen gaming and entertainment can check out the new Console Mode, which turns SHIELD into a portable living room game console. PC enthusiasts will be thrilled to know PC streaming, now called NVIDIA GameStream, has officially launched. Our over-the-air update also brings Android 4.3 Jelly Bean to SHIELD. And then there’s SHIELD Gamepad Mapper – which turns touch-based Android games into ones that can be enjoyed with SHIELD’s console-quality controls.
SHIELD Is Your “Play-ground”
The biggest question marks with any gaming device are always around quantity and quality of the games. Google Play’s massive ecosystem of games meant SHIELD had a leg up on traditional consoles. And while almost every touch-based game on Google Play was playable using SHIELD’s touchscreen, they weren’t able to take full advantage of SHIELD’s capabilities.
But we’re changing the game.
You can now play your favorite touch games with SHIELD’s physical controls using the new SHIELD Gamepad Mapper. Create your own custom controls for thousands of games on Google Play, or use NVIDIA’s default profiles now available for hundreds of top Android games, making everything from “NBA Jam” to “Temple Run” playable on SHIELD’s console-grade controller. The default profiles are automatically downloaded from the cloud so you can just launch your game and play.
Console Mode
Console Mode transforms your portable SHIELD into a full living room gaming and entertainment experience on your big-screen TV. Simply pair up a Bluetooth controller and sit back on your couch and play Android games, browse the web, and watch your favorite movies all in native HD at 1080p. Best of all, NVIDIA GameStream is Console Mode-ready. So you’ll be able to stream your PC games to – and enjoy them on – the big screen.
Console Mode has been optimized to work and play with Nyko’s PlayPad Pro wireless Bluetooth controller.
Latest, Greatest and More of It
With SHIELD updated to Android 4.3, users get a range of new features, such as restricted profiles, expandable and actionable notifications, and improvements that make everything feel even more fluid, fast and smooth.
Finally, the software update expands SHIELD’s support for moving select game and app files to SD cards, now allowing gamers to move both .OBB and .APK files to SD, freeing up more of SHIELD’s internal storage.”
Source: NVIDIA
