超越索尼任天堂：英伟达有望催生游戏业下一个大事件

    英伟达打算像音乐界的Spotify一样，在游戏界掀起波澜。

    这家芯片和显卡制造商的首席执行官兼联合创始人黄仁勋表示，目前的电视游戏基本上都是通过游戏机操作的。但他相信，如果英伟达能简化游戏的交付过程，让玩家只需轻轻一点就能获得各种游戏，该公司就能使玩家群体扩大10倍到100倍。

    总部位于加州圣克拉拉市的英伟达公司，即将于5月份推出全新的“盾”（Shield）游戏机，这是一台高性能的安卓电视设备，将搭载英伟达Grid游戏流媒体服务，售价为200美元。与市面上其他游戏机不同，“盾”所有的游戏都是通过流媒体来推送的，也就是说，无需下载或使用光盘。

    英伟达“盾”与GeForce显卡事业部营销总监马特•维布林表示：“我们并不认为‘盾’是在和PS4或Xbox One争抢用户。在我们眼里，这是一台流媒体设备，它能推送4K格式的娱乐节目和游戏。我们认为这是一种模式的改变，而不是一场势均力敌的较量。”据他介绍，“盾”是市面上唯一一台支持4K格式内容的安卓电视设备和游戏机。

    游戏研究公司Newzoo的首席执行官彼得•沃尔曼称，凭借“盾”这一利器，在那些传统游戏机还未大行其道的地方，尤其是东欧、拉美和亚洲地区，英伟达有望大获成功。就算在那些规模较大，早已被索尼和微软瓜分掉大部分份额的市场，“盾”的低廉售价及其携带的200款数字游戏也能吸引大批玩家。

    沃尔曼表示：“由于跟传统的零售渠道捆绑在一起，传统游戏机往往会遭遇发展瓶颈，英伟达对此深有体会。通过推出高端纯数字化解决方案，游戏开发者推出游戏并设法赚钱时，就有了更大的自由度，这与他们在PC时代所习惯的模式有天壤之别。就在其他厂商纷纷投入巨资收购流媒体技术、专利和公司时，英伟达可能早已利器在手，胜券在握。”

    对英伟达来说，拓展到生产领域并直接营销品牌游戏机，是一次重大转变。这家公司早年以生产图睿芯片和GeForce显卡而享誉业界。从智能手机到车载影音系统，都离不开图睿芯片。2013年7月，英伟达推出了便携式“盾”游戏机，2014年7月，它又推出了“盾”平板电脑。这两款产品至今在售，售价分别是200美元和300美元起。

    国际数据公司游戏业研究经理路易斯•沃德认为，英伟达之所以进入游戏硬件领域，是因为索尼、微软和任天堂公司纷纷决定在其最新游戏机上使用英伟达的死对头——AMD公司的技术（而索尼PlayStation 3和微软Xbox 360使用的皆是英伟达的技术）。

    沃德称：“英伟达本来就自产芯片，要转向完全商业化的硬件服务并不需要巨额研发投入。英伟达并不打算赢得这场游戏机大战，但它会开拓出一片高清电视游戏体验的细分市场，这会让投资者满意，也会让游戏迷们大呼过瘾。”

    沃德认为“盾”是一款创新产品，也是用来证明英伟达图睿芯片和Grid流媒体技术实力的绝佳例证。这也是一款带有概念验证性质的产品。沃德相信，英伟达最终会以合适的价格把它卖给一家原始设备生产商。（财富中文网）

    译者：清远

    审校：任文科

    Nvidia wants to do for gaming what Spotify did for music.

    Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO and co-founder of the chipset and graphic card maker, says gaming on TV right now is focused on the console. However, he believes Nvidia can expand the reach of gaming 10 to 100 times if it can make gaming more accessible by simplifying delivery of titles to a single click.

    Nvidia, based in Santa Clara, Calif., is launching its new Shield console, which is a high-powered Android TV device combined with the Nvidia Grid game streaming service, in May for $200. Unlike other consoles currently on the market, the Shield streams all of its content—no downloads or discs required.

    “We don’t see Shield Console competing with PS4 or Xbox One consumers,” says Matt Wuebbling, director of Shield and GeForce marketing at Nvidia. “We see this as a streaming device that delivers both entertainment and gaming in 4K. We look at it as a paradigm shift, rather than a head-to-head competition.” According to Wuebbling, Shield is the only Android TV device and only gaming device that supports 4K (Ultra HD) content on the market.

    Peter Warman, CEO of video game research firm Newzoo, says Nvidia has an opportunity to succeed with Shield in regions where traditional consoles have not, particularly in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia. Even in the larger markets where Sony and Microsoft have a large foothold, the lower price point and collection of 200 digital games at launch could lure gamers.

    “Nvidia sees first-hand how the traditional consoles are in a gridlock because of their traditional tie-in with retail,” Warman says. “By launching a high-end, completely digital solution, developers will have a lot more freedom in launching and monetizing their content, comparable to what they are used to on PC. As others are investing billions of dollars in acquiring streaming technology, patents and companies, Nvidia might just have the best solution.”

    This expansion into manufacturing and marketing branded gaming hardware is quite a change for Nvidia. The company is primarily known as the maker of Tegra chipsets, which power everything from smartphones to the entertainment systems in cars, and GeForce graphics cards. Nvidia shipped the Shield portable in July 2013 and the Shield tablet in July 2014. Both of those devices remain on the market today, with prices starting at $200 and $300, respectively.

    Lewis Ward, gaming research manager at IDC, believes Nvidia entered the games hardware space because Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo all decided to use technology from Nvidia’s competitor AMD for their latest consoles (Sony and Microsoft previously used Nvidia technology for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.)

    “Nvidia has the chipsets and it’s not a massive R&D investment to transition to a fully commercialized hardware service,” Ward says. “Nvidia is not going to win this console battle, but it’ll carve out a niche of the HD TV gaming experience that will make investors happy and please the rabid gaming fan base.”

    Ward sees the Shield console as an innovative product that also serves as an example of what can be done with Nvidia’s Tegra chips and Grid streaming technology. It’s a proof-of-concept that Ward believes Nvidia would ultimately sell to an original equipment manufacturer for the right price.