Nvidia's response to AMD's Radeon R9 290X launch last week came on Monday with the company to cut the prices of its GeForce GTX 780 and GTX 770 GPUs. In addition, an update for SHIELD unlocks support for more Android games.
AMD's Radeon R9 290X received positive reviews at its launch launch last week for both its performance and the great value for money. Nvidia's logical response are price cuts for its GTX 780, which will drop from $649 to $499 and the GTX 770, which will be available for $329.
Nvidia's a move puts the GTX 780 below the AMD Radeon R9 290X, and the GTX 770 very close to the proce of the Radeon R9 280X. Nvidia believes it will offer still more value because the GTX 780/770 is bundled with redeemable codes for the Batman: Arkham Origins, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag games.
Nvidia has also announced that November 7 is the general availability date for the GeForce GTX 780 Ti. This one will cost $699.
Nvidia also today a 'massive' update to its SHIELD gaming portable that allows gamers to play thousands more Android games originally designed for touch screens.
Fans of big-screen gaming and entertainment can check out the new Console Mode, which turns SHIELD into a portable living room game console. PC streaming, now called NVIDIA GameStream, also has officially launched. The over-the-air update also brings Android 4.3 Jelly Bean to SHIELD.
And then there's SHIELD Gamepad Mapper - which turns touch-based Android games into ones that can be enjoyed with SHIELD's console-quality controls.
You can now play your favorite touch games with SHIELD's physical controls using the new SHIELD Gamepad Mapper. You can create your own custom controls for thousands of games on Google Play, or use NVIDIA's default profiles now available for hundreds of Android games. The default profiles are automatically downloaded from the cloud so you can just launch your game and play.
Console Mode transforms your portable SHIELD into a living room gaming and entertainment experience on your big-screen TV. Simply pair up a Bluetooth controller and sit back on your couch and play Android games, browse the web, and watch your favorite movies all in native HD at 1080p. NVIDIA GameStream is also Console Mode-ready. So you'll be able to stream your PC games to - and enjoy them on - the big screen.
Console Mode has been optimized to work and play with Nyko's PlayPad Pro wireless Bluetooth controller.
With SHIELD updated to Android 4.3, users get a range of new features, such as restricted profiles, expandable and actionable notifications, and improvements that make everything feel even more fast and smooth.
Finally, the software update expands SHIELD's support for moving select game and app files to SD cards, now allowing gamers to move both .OBB and .APK files to SD, freeing up more of SHIELD's internal storage.
NVIDIA GameStream is optimized for game-speed Wi-Fi with ultra-low latency and now up to 60 frames per second. GameStream coupled with Console Mode means you can now play PC games on your big screen TV in 720p without having to drag your PC into the living room.
PC streaming officially supports more than 50 of the best PC games, including 2013 blockbuster holiday releases such as "Batman: Arkham Origins" and "Assassin?s Creed IV: Black Flag."
To celebrate the official release of GameStream, for a limited time NVIDIA will offer up to $100 off SHIELD plus free copies of "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag," "Splinter Cell: Blacklist" and "Batman: Arkham Origins" with the purchase of select GeForce GTX graphics cards.
