????英偉達(dá)打算像音樂界的Spotify一樣，在游戲界掀起波瀾。

????這家芯片和顯卡制造商的首席執(zhí)行官兼聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人黃仁勛表示，目前的電視游戲基本上都是通過游戲機(jī)操作的。但他相信，如果英偉達(dá)能簡化游戲的交付過程，讓玩家只需輕輕一點(diǎn)就能獲得各種游戲，該公司就能使玩家群體擴(kuò)大10倍到100倍。

????總部位于加州圣克拉拉市的英偉達(dá)公司，即將于5月份推出全新的“盾”（Shield）游戲機(jī)，這是一臺(tái)高性能的安卓電視設(shè)備，將搭載英偉達(dá)Grid游戲流媒體服務(wù)，售價(jià)為200美元。與市面上其他游戲機(jī)不同，“盾”所有的游戲都是通過流媒體來推送的，也就是說，無需下載或使用光盤。

????英偉達(dá)“盾”與GeForce顯卡事業(yè)部營銷總監(jiān)馬特?維布林表示：“我們并不認(rèn)為‘盾’是在和PS4或Xbox One爭搶用戶。在我們眼里，這是一臺(tái)流媒體設(shè)備，它能推送4K格式的娛樂節(jié)目和游戲。我們認(rèn)為這是一種模式的改變，而不是一場(chǎng)勢(shì)均力敵的較量?！睋?jù)他介紹，“盾”是市面上唯一一臺(tái)支持4K格式內(nèi)容的安卓電視設(shè)備和游戲機(jī)。

????游戲研究公司Newzoo的首席執(zhí)行官彼得?沃爾曼稱，憑借“盾”這一利器，在那些傳統(tǒng)游戲機(jī)還未大行其道的地方，尤其是東歐、拉美和亞洲地區(qū)，英偉達(dá)有望大獲成功。就算在那些規(guī)模較大，早已被索尼和微軟瓜分掉大部分份額的市場(chǎng)，“盾”的低廉售價(jià)及其攜帶的200款數(shù)字游戲也能吸引大批玩家。

????沃爾曼表示：“由于跟傳統(tǒng)的零售渠道捆綁在一起，傳統(tǒng)游戲機(jī)往往會(huì)遭遇發(fā)展瓶頸，英偉達(dá)對(duì)此深有體會(huì)。通過推出高端純數(shù)字化解決方案，游戲開發(fā)者推出游戲并設(shè)法賺錢時(shí)，就有了更大的自由度，這與他們?cè)赑C時(shí)代所習(xí)慣的模式有天壤之別。就在其他廠商紛紛投入巨資收購流媒體技術(shù)、專利和公司時(shí)，英偉達(dá)可能早已利器在手，勝券在握?！?/p>

????對(duì)英偉達(dá)來說，拓展到生產(chǎn)領(lǐng)域并直接營銷品牌游戲機(jī)，是一次重大轉(zhuǎn)變。這家公司早年以生產(chǎn)圖睿芯片和GeForce顯卡而享譽(yù)業(yè)界。從智能手機(jī)到車載影音系統(tǒng)，都離不開圖睿芯片。2013年7月，英偉達(dá)推出了便攜式“盾”游戲機(jī)，2014年7月，它又推出了“盾”平板電腦。這兩款產(chǎn)品至今在售，售價(jià)分別是200美元和300美元起。

????國際數(shù)據(jù)公司游戲業(yè)研究經(jīng)理路易斯?沃德認(rèn)為，英偉達(dá)之所以進(jìn)入游戲硬件領(lǐng)域，是因?yàn)樗髂?、微軟和任天堂公司紛紛決定在其最新游戲機(jī)上使用英偉達(dá)的死對(duì)頭——AMD公司的技術(shù)（而索尼PlayStation 3和微軟Xbox 360使用的皆是英偉達(dá)的技術(shù)）。

????沃德稱：“英偉達(dá)本來就自產(chǎn)芯片，要轉(zhuǎn)向完全商業(yè)化的硬件服務(wù)并不需要巨額研發(fā)投入。英偉達(dá)并不打算贏得這場(chǎng)游戲機(jī)大戰(zhàn)，但它會(huì)開拓出一片高清電視游戲體驗(yàn)的細(xì)分市場(chǎng)，這會(huì)讓投資者滿意，也會(huì)讓游戲迷們大呼過癮?！?/p>

????沃德認(rèn)為“盾”是一款創(chuàng)新產(chǎn)品，也是用來證明英偉達(dá)圖睿芯片和Grid流媒體技術(shù)實(shí)力的絕佳例證。這也是一款帶有概念驗(yàn)證性質(zhì)的產(chǎn)品。沃德相信，英偉達(dá)最終會(huì)以合適的價(jià)格把它賣給一家原始設(shè)備生產(chǎn)商。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：清遠(yuǎn)

????審校：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.