Okay, I don’t know how this happened, but it appears that two companies have unveiled two major consoles at the same time. Or at least we have information on both of them.
I’ll start with NVIDIA. You might know them because they have created the graphics behind some of your favorite games. They once released a gaming handheld known as the NVIDIA Shield, and then an Android gaming tablet of the same name. It would appear that they are getting into the console business with the Android TV Console. Yes, it is powered by Android, and it is the first 4K capable Android set-top box. In case you are not aware, 4K is the best resolution there is (for right now), and even the Xbox One and Sony PS4 don’t game in 4K. Thanks to an NVIDIA Tegra X1 Processor chip, you have accessibility to graphics this good.
It looks like control of the NVIDIA Shield will be possible with a small, micro-USB, rechargeable bidirectional Bluetooth remote. I don’t have a picture or a description of what the remote looks like, but what makes this very interesting is that you can load up some PC games with Resident Evil 5 and much more. The plan is to get the NVIDIA Shield out by May for a price of $199, which will provide you with 16 GB of internal storage.
Valve has come up with a console of their own with the Valve Steam Link. Considering that it is not possible for me to play my Steam-powered games on my Sony PS4, I just can’t figure out why in the world how I can play them on my TV. Fortunately, the $50 micro-PC Steam Link is made for just that.
Just to let you know, there is a Steam Controller made for it, but it will cost you another $50. Yes, that is a separate price just for one controller. However, it might be worth $100 just to have Steam on your TV, honestly. This should launch at some time in November.
I believe that a lot of these announcements have to do with the Game Developer’s Conference happening right now. With about five cool consoles available for consumers, it should make for an interesting Christmas.
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