Nvidia's Tegra 4-powered gaming handheld, Shield, has seen some success in its relatively short lifetime. So successful, in fact, that you might not be able to get one. In an interview with GamesIndustry International, Nvidia's senior director of investor relations, Chris Evenden, said all of the $299 Shield units Nvidia has shipped so far have sold out, adding that the company is getting set to start ramping up production.
"We've shipped out to our partners only several thousand units, and so it's still quite early to tell," Evenden said. "But we're expecting to do quite well with Shield." The Android-powered Shield is meant to provide users with a better gaming experience while playing favorite Android titles. Shield does this by giving users a console-style gaming controller built directly into its chassis.
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Of course, it's not all about Android games. The handheld also allows users to wirelessly stream Steam games from a desktop PC to Shield, as long as the two share the same local area network. So you can easily explore the vast expanses of "Borderlands" 2 or "Skyrim" from the comfort of your bed. The downside, as we mentioned in our review, is that the system can only connect to desktop PC's at this time.
Many of the Shields that sold so far undoubtedly went to hardcore gamers. With production ramping up, it will be interesting to see if Nvidia can capture more of the mainstream market, as well.
