Another free month for Shield owners
Here’s a bit of good news for Shield owners who have enjoyed Nvidia’s Grid game streaming service since it was launched back in 2013: Nvidia has quietly extended the cutoff date to September. Unfortunately, the company doesn’t give an exact date for when the subscription model will begin, but we’re betting it will be around September 30.
Previously the Shield-based service was due to kick in the subscription model on June 30, but the official launch date was pushed forward to July 31, giving Shield owners an extra month of free play. The company said at the time that the first extension was due to the launch of Nvidia’s Shield set-top box.
“This extension is valid for our entire family of Shield devices,” Nvidia said in June. “So if you own a Shield portable, tablet, or Android TV you may continue to enjoy unlimited streaming access to Grid’s library of more than 50 PC games.”
The Grid gaming service’s roster includes huge hits like Batman: Arkham Origins, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, Borderlands, Dead Island: Riptide, Saints Row 3, and more. There are even family-friendly titles such as LEGO Batman, LEGO Hobbit, and LEGO Movie: The Videogame.
Nvidia’s Grid gaming service will presumably work like Netflix: pay a monthly fee and have access to a growing bank of PC games. Trine 2 and Strike Suit Zero are scheduled to be taken off the roster on August 14, and will likely be replaced by two new additions, just like Netflix. The company will also offer games to purchase and stream, similar to what OnLive was doing before it closed down.
Currently, the Grid gaming service only works on the Shield Portable, the Shield Tablet and the Shield Android TV set-top-box. The Shield Portable is in the shape of a controller and sells for $199 (16 GB) whereas the Shield Tablet sells for $299 (16 GB, Wi-Fi) or $399 (32 GB, LTE). The Shield Android TV device costs $200 (16 GB, controller) or $300 (500 GB, Controller).
Once the subscription model kicks in, will Shield owners bite? Nvidia may be placing its bets on the Grid service as an incentive for customers to purchase Shield hardware. There may be bundles offered, providing a discount on both the hardware and game subscription. We'll find out when the subscription model officially launches in the near future.
From maximumpc
from http://bit.ly/1WgjMEG
