NVIDIA GDC 2015 Liveblog
by Ryan Smith on March 3, 2015 9:53 PM EST11:42PM EST - We're out
11:41PM EST - One last video: TRON: Legacy parody
11:41PM EST - That's a wrap. Look for formal press releases soon
11:39PM EST - SHIELD Console: 4K-capable Android TV device, high performance SoC for Android gaming, and GRID for streaming PC games
11:38PM EST - Wrap up time
11:36PM EST - Now running UE4 Infiltrator demo via GRID
11:35PM EST - Jen-Hsun mentions that since Unreal Engine 4 is now free, PhysX is similarly free since it comes with UE4
11:33PM EST - Side note: it looks like NVIDIA has a new revision of the SHIELD Controller; the D-Pad is different
11:32PM EST - Discussing how there's more GPU performance available in the cloud (i.e. the PC) than the Xbox One
11:31PM EST - NVIDIA thinks game streaming will be the next revolution
11:30PM EST - A difference of 17 years
11:30PM EST - NES: 1983. PS2: 2000
11:30PM EST - Jen-Hsun talking about the history of consoles
11:28PM EST - 50+ launch titles on GRID. 100 by the end of the year
11:25PM EST - The Witcher III running via GRID
11:23PM EST - Now on deck: Damien Mnnnier of CD Projekt Red
11:23PM EST - Metal Gear Rising Revengences will be coming to SHIELD
11:21PM EST - Metal Gear Solid V Ground Zeros running via GRID
11:19PM EST - Now on deck: Keichiro Imaizumi of Konami
11:19PM EST - Resident Evil 5 getting an Android port
11:17PM EST - Considerable audio/video desync in this demo
11:16PM EST - Demoing Resident Evil Revelations 2 over GRID, a free-to-play game
11:16PM EST - NVDIA still needs publihers to sign on to GRID, hence the publisher showcase
11:14PM EST - Now on deck: Michiteru Okabe of Capcom
11:14PM EST - NVIDIA's benefit here is that they can offer almost anything that runs on Steam and support the Xbox 360 controller
11:12PM EST - Current SHIELD owners should be familiar with the current selection of free GRID games
11:11PM EST - Looks like the built-in benchmark (or at least the track)
11:09PM EST - Now demoing GRID2 over GRID
11:08PM EST - Coming in May
11:08PM EST - NVIDIA will also sell individual games
11:07PM EST - The higher tier gets more free games
11:07PM EST - Two stores; basic subscription and premium subscription
11:06PM EST - Discussing how only NVIDIA could do this due to making the server GPUs and client SoCs
11:04PM EST - Amazon AWS powered
11:04PM EST - Have to trim latency as low as possible
11:03PM EST - Now discussing NVIDIA's development process for GRID
11:01PM EST - NVIDIA has had long-term ambitions for game streaming. Those plans went sideways whn early partner Gaikai was purchased by Sony for Playstation Now
11:01PM EST - Can steam up to 1080p60
11:00PM EST - GRID is becoming an official service
11:00PM EST - Yep, it's GRID
11:00PM EST - Jen-Hsun is now talking about streaming
10:59PM EST - Final announcement time
10:59PM EST - Still trying to find out about the OS, but it sounds like an up to date version of Android TV
10:58PM EST - Game controller included
10:58PM EST - Price: $199
10:57PM EST - A large number of PC/360 ports
10:56PM EST - "50+ Android launch titles"
10:56PM EST - Crysis 3
10:54PM EST - Cryengne 3 running on Tegra X1 at 30fps
10:53PM EST - Now on stage: Cevat Yerli of Crytek
10:52PM EST - Note that we still need a GTX 970 to run Crysis: Warhead at 1080p with everything turned up and 4x SSAA
10:52PM EST - "Can it run Crysis?"
10:51PM EST - Looks to be running well. A 60fps target gives them a lot of room to work in
10:50PM EST - Doom will run at 60fps
10:50PM EST - Side observation: each generation of NVIDIA products gets bigger. Tegra 4 SHELD Portable, Tegra K1 in the 7" Shield Tablet, and Tegra X1 in the SHIELD console
10:49PM EST - Doom 3 BFG will run on the microconsole
10:47PM EST - Now on deck: Tim Willits of id Software
10:45PM EST - The Talos Prnciple is being ported to the microconsole as well
10:45PM EST - Now on deck: Alen Ladavac of Croteam
10:44PM EST - Borderlands on an SoC-class platform is ambitious. Sony tried it with Borderlands 2 on the Vita, to mixed results due to performance issues
10:43PM EST - TPS demo. We're told it's running at 30fps, however it feels like it's struggling
10:43PM EST - NVIDIA has the source code, and it sounds like they did a lot of the heavy lifting
10:42PM EST - Gearbx is going to do a Borderlands: TPS port for NVIDIA
10:41PM EST - Now on deck: Randy Ptchford of Gearbox
10:41PM EST - Looks very similar in functionality to the current NVIDIA game software on SHIELD Tablet
10:40PM EST - Back to software, taking about the SHIELD Store
10:39PM EST - The console will of course use the SHIELD controller, first introduced alongside the SHIELD tablet
10:39PM EST - Now talking about internals and construction
10:38PM EST - A 360 comparison makes sense given the performance, though at the same time game development for those last-gen consoles is winding down
10:36PM EST - 360 turns 10 years old this year, BTW
10:36PM EST - Xbox 360 comparisons
10:36PM EST - Notably absent: Tegra 3 powered Ouya
10:35PM EST - Though none of them were designed for intense local rendering
10:35PM EST - Vastly more powerful than other smart TV devices
10:34PM EST - Tegra X1 confirmed
10:34PM EST - Do for gaming what Netflix did for videos
10:34PM EST - How to expand the reach of gaming?
10:33PM EST - Now it's time to talk about gaming
10:32PM EST - It's rechargable via USB
10:32PM EST - Overheard in the front of the crowd "What?!"
10:32PM EST - "You don't ever have to replace the batteries"
10:30PM EST - It's also a Bluetooth receiver for headphones
10:30PM EST - Betting heavily on voice search. The remote is vey simple with only a couple of buttons and a microphone
10:30PM EST - Almost certainly a Tegra X1 then
10:29PM EST - Now demoing 4Kp60 decode capabilities
10:29PM EST - Which I suspect is where GRID will come in
10:28PM EST - Of course it's one thing to leverage Android for media, but for gaming that's another matter
10:28PM EST - It isn't quite perfect yet...
10:28PM EST - Now showcasing Google Play Store voice recognition
10:26PM EST - Curretly showing off Android software and features
10:25PM EST - Just like the previous SHIELD devices, NVIDIA is leveraging Android and their own hardware to tap into the Android ecosystem and build off of that
10:24PM EST - NVIDIA didn't get in any of the current gen consoles, so NVIDIA seems to be going it on their own
10:23PM EST - Despite TV being mentioned, to be clear this is not an actual NVIDIA television
10:22PM EST - "World's first Android TV Console"
10:21PM EST - Very thin, but in terms of total volume it seems to be a decent size
10:20PM EST - And there's the microconsole
10:19PM EST - The NVIDIA SHIELD living room entertainment device
10:18PM EST - "Likely a multi-billion unit market"
10:18PM EST - Apps make for unlimited possibilities
10:16PM EST - The TV? The portal to those services
10:16PM EST - Jen-Hsun is very gung-ho on remote/cloud computing
10:15PM EST - Not to mention tablets on TVs via Chromecast and similar techs
10:15PM EST - Now getting int discusions of TVs and consoles
10:15PM EST - "The Modern Living Room"
10:14PM EST - Continued recap of NVIDIA's latest market entries
10:12PM EST - And NVIDIA's history of breaking into new markets
10:12PM EST - A brief history of GPU development
10:11PM EST - TV? Did not see that coming (edit: and indeed it did not. "TV" was in reference to the device being an Android TV set-top box)
10:11PM EST - 3 announcements: TV, game console, and a supercomputer
10:10PM EST - "Working towards this day for many years"
10:10PM EST - Now on stage, Jen-Hsun
10:10PM EST - Final slide note: walking up Nob Hill in San Francisco looks like a much better idea than it actually is when you're at the bottom
10:08PM EST - Should begin in a moment
10:07PM EST - Side note: I have to admit whatever projection system NVIDIA is using for projecting on a black surface looks really good. Very Tron-ish
10:05PM EST - NVIDIA has always been aggressive in the gaming market, a bet that has worked out well for them in the past
10:04PM EST - But dGPUs alone do well enough to keep the whole company well in the black
10:04PM EST - Tegra sales, not so much...
10:04PM EST - dGPU sales have been booming in consumer, pro, and compute
10:03PM EST - NVIDIA overall is having a great year
10:02PM EST - Looks like it'll start just a bit late. 5 minutes from now
09:57PM EST - Our bets: GRID becomes a paid service, VR, and microconsoles
09:56PM EST - What we'll be seeing tonight will be gaming related ad is said to have taken NVIDIA 5 years, but beyond that we don't know what to expect
09:56PM EST - Being held in the Nob Hill Masonic Center, NVIDIA has recented out a fairly large venue
09:55PM EST - We're here at NVDIA's GDC 2015 press event
37 Comments
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ol1bit - Tuesday, March 3, 2015 - link
Well, the price is right! Thanks for the live Blog, was cool to watch while doing other reading in Anandtech and other HW sites!tviceman - Tuesday, March 3, 2015 - link
Price is good, considering the controller bundle. It wasn't mentioned (as far as I could tell) whether or not the ability to stream local games from your PC would be an option. If it isn't, that may make this product DOA. Many people that may consider buying this already have 200+ games on Steam and want the ability to easily stream to TV.kron123456789 - Wednesday, March 4, 2015 - link
At last, an ARM based SoC that can run Crysis.kyuu - Wednesday, March 4, 2015 - link
Pretty sure they said you can use the same kind of PC streaming as the other Shield devices if you have a qualifying Nvidia GPU (650 or up or something like that). Not that that's very exciting for anyone with an AMD GPU.SpartanJet - Tuesday, March 3, 2015 - link
I really can't understand using Android for gaming systems. I can't think of a more garbage filled wasteland of pay to win cash grab. There isnt a singe game I play anymore they have almost all been tainted by the money grab. Give me a PC or console anyday for gaming.bunnyfubbles - Wednesday, March 4, 2015 - link
Going with an ARM based SoC based on Android they avoid messy collaborations with AMD/Intel/Microsoft, and it also keeps the product's entry price low. 2x XBox 360 performance in a much smaller/quieter package for the same range the 360 and PS3 are still being sold is a pretty good deal.This system isn't solely targeted at people who are already ardent PC and/or console gamers, this is more of a hybrid Nintendo type move where nVidia is attempting to reach untapped gamers rather than specifically pander to an established base where competition is already high.
Jumangi - Wednesday, March 4, 2015 - link
This logic makes no sense. The reveal is at GDC and they show games like DOOM and Crysis. It doesn't get anymore hardcore than that. This is just NVidia continuing to throw darts at consumers hoping to get something to grab since they have zero presence in the consumer market in front of the TV.Yojimbo - Wednesday, March 4, 2015 - link
No, it's NVIDIA trying to tap a new market (smart tv), and differentiate themselves from other smart tv makers by leveraging their graphics and gaming capabilities. They mention games like DOOM and Crysis to show that it is a real gaming device, but that doesn't mean it's for people who already have a gaming PC and/or a latest generation console. I don't know why you would get one for yourself if you already have an XBox One and a gaming PC.RussianSensation - Wednesday, March 4, 2015 - link
No one cares how fast it is against Xbox 360 because that's a nearly 10 year old console. Gamers buying today will look at either building a budget gaming PC for $500 or just get a $350-400 XB1/PS4. Compared to all those options a $200 console with no must have games and one that requires you to purchase an external HDD if you actually want to do anything with it once you buy your 1st game sounds like $200 straight into the toilet. 2x faster vs. Xbox 360 is nothing compared to XB1/PS4. If someone wanted an underpowered console, there is the Wii U with its great 1st party games. Does NV not realize that choosing Android as their primary OS is a major bottleneck for future game support? Ask yourself this, if they launched a $500 console with GTX980 SLI and Core i7 5960X but it was still based around the existing Android OS for games, would that sell against XB1/PS4? Nope.lucam - Tuesday, March 3, 2015 - link
''Side observation: each generation of NVIDIA products gets bigger''.Of course this hardly can be considered a ''mobile'' chip.