NVIDIA recently announced the SHIELD Android TV is about to become even more gamer-focused than it was before as it’s set to receive an upgrade to its GeForce NOW service. One which will pretty much bring the service on SHIELD TV in line with that experienced by GeForce NOW users on PC and Mac.
For some time, the SHIELD TV has come with a GeForce NOW version included. A subscription-based version that provides the subscriber with access to a number of games each month. While the service was good and certainly a better gaming experience than what is offered on any other Android TV device, the updated version coming to the SHIELD TV will greatly improve the experience. Not only in the variety of games that will be available, but also the quality of the games supported. Basically, the new GeForce NOW will offer SHIELD TV device owners an almost PC-like gaming experience by providing the user full access to their own PC games library, as well as the option to purchase new games from Steam and Uplay, and other digital stores. NVIDIA draws on Fortnite and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege as two examples of the quality of games that are already available, and notes upcoming titles will include the likes of Shadow of the Tomb Raider – due for general release on September 14, 2018.
While the SHIELD TV in itself is not as powerful as a PC designed for gaming, this improvement will be possible due to GeForce NOW’s cloud-based nature which lets users stream games over an internet connection. So there is no expectation of a drop in quality in spite of the — in comparison — lesser hardware. Furthermore, as these games are being streamed, there will be no issues with the amount of local storage available on an individual SHIELD TV unit. With this approach effectively providing an unlimited gaming experience. NVIDIA also points out it will take care of the patches and game updates as and when they become available. During this recent announcement, NVIDIA did not specifically state when the new GeForce NOW service will be available on the SHIELD Android TV, although the wait won’t be long as the update is expected to launch “within the next week.” It’s worth noting that the initial offering of this upgraded service is a beta product. The upside of which is it’s free while in beta. The — possible — downside is it might not be free once the beta tag is dropped. In the meantime, more details available through the link.
GeForce NOW Beta