New Nvidia Shield may support Google Stadia at launch
But what about GeForce Now?
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Speculation around the rumored refresh of theNvidiaShield TV streaming box is getting intense. Just days afterGoogle’s developer tools seemed tomake reference to an upgraded Nvidia Shield TV, it seems like there may be more going on behind the scenes than we first thought.
An anonymous source speaking toThe Digital Fixhas claimed that the Nvidia Shield TV refresh is not only coming this year, but will be launching in November alongsideGoogle Stadia– the upcoming video game streaming platform hoping to offer an affordable alternative to traditional game consoles.
We know Google Stadia is launching in November, and will be coming to a variety of screen devices includinglaptops,tablets, and evenGoogle Pixelsmartphones.
The promise of Stadia is in offloading most of the processing power needed to run games onto an external server, though you’ll need some minimum hardware specs to get the program running.
It makes sense for Stadia to come to streaming boxes like the Shield, which has more than enough processing power to run the service, and is powered by Google’s AndroidTV smart platform– as well as being able to play content in4K resolutionandHDR.
We know Stadia will also play nice on theGoogle Chromecaststreaming dongle, and it does seem like Google is making a concerted effort to strengthen its Android ecosystem with the upcoming games service.
Apparently, the source also mentioned that the new Nvidia Shield would come in a controller-free model, and be compatible with the Google Stadia controller – which isalready available to orderin advance of the Stadia’s launch.
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Don’t cross the streams
What’s curious about this is that the Nvidia Shield TV already has a cloud gaming service.
Nvidia’sGeForce Nowoffers a curated list of games available to stream over the box, including many recent AAA releases. It’s still a restricted lineup – and the resolution on GeForce Now is still limited to 1080p, compared to the Stadia’s4KHDRoutput – though it offers a simple interface, strong streaming, and the beginning blocks of cloud gaming.
Why Nvidia would want to compete with its own service isn’t immediately clear, and unless GeForce managed to offer a distinctive offering – say, a number of niche games not offered through Stadia – we wouldn’t image it getting much attention once the much-hyped Stadia has launched.
You can see our in-depth comparison of the two services at the link below.
Henry is a freelance technology journalist, and former News & Features Editor for TechRadar, where he specialized in home entertainment gadgets such as TVs, projectors, soundbars, and smart speakers. Other bylines include Edge, T3, iMore, GamesRadar, NBC News, Healthline, and The Times.
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