Nvidia Shield: In-network game streaming is canceled
Very surprisingly, instead of a Christmas present, Nvidia is more likely to bring the Grinch into the house, at least if you own an Nvidia Shield console or – almost the worse – intended it as a Christmas present. Because the network-internal game streaming, which most owners consider to be a particularly important function, will be deleted with an update in February 2023, like the PC Games Hardware reported the day before yesterday. Unfortunately, the Agents of Shield can’t do anything about it either – but joking aside: There is no comprehensible explanation for Nvidia’s decision. So today we want to take a closer look and comment on the matter. The function seems to work perfectly, it doesn’t seem to need constant updates that are expensive for Nvidia, there’s no new content or anything like that, and other Nvidia products aren’t in any apparent competition with the streaming function. Nvidia does have that Cloud gaming service GeForce Now improved this year and is of course looking for as many users as possible for the paid GeForce Now offers. However, the gamers who previously used their Nvidia Shield for network streaming are certainly not potential new customers. We are happy to explain why we see it that way.
To do this, we first explain the streaming functions: You have an Nvidia Shield (buy now ) connected to an LCD TV in the living room, for example. With the console you can stream films and series via the well-known services or play android-based games with the Shield controller. GeForce Now can also be used via the Shield – these features are retained. But the most important function for many is the streaming of their own games, which will be discontinued from February. The game stream works as follows: If you also have a PC with an Nvidia graphics card in the network that can easily display your games with sufficient FPS values, you can currently still play on the Nvidia Shield via network. The game runs on the PC and is streamed via the GeForce Experience software via the network to the Nvidia Shield. Since the console communicates with the GeForce Experience, the game can be fully controlled with the Shield controller – so you’re playing with a high-end PC in the living room, for example, although the PC is in the study.
This function is now gone, and no one really knows why. Because it is certainly not just the users with a previously sufficiently powerful PC who are now switching to GeForce Now in rows, where they pay by subscription for another PC, which Nvidia provides in the form of servers. In addition, GeForce Now has a large number of publishers, so most games can be played via cloud gaming – but there are also many publishers who do not work with Nvidia and whose games are not supported by GeForce Now. In addition, Nvidia itself recommends alternatives such as Steam’s streaming function. So it doesn’t look like Nvidia wants to lure gamers to GeForce Now by removing the feature. For potential new buyers of an Nvidia Shield, it is of course not a pro argument if a function is omitted. So what exactly Nvidia has ridden to remove the game streaming function of the Nvidia Shield remains hidden in the dark, at least so far.
Reference-www.pcgames.de
