SHIELD gaming device is flying off store shelves.
What are your thoughts about Tegra 4 and how much further it’s pushing portable video game technology closer to what we’re seeing in current gen consoles?
Even the chip evolution is moving faster than the console evolution because there are just so many new devices. Tegra 4 is one more example of how fast things are going. We’re already talking about what’s next with NVIDIA, so I think as you see things like Tegra continue to adapt and evolve with things like SHIELD and certainly tablets, it’s amazing. As the graphics on tablets continue to evolve, we’re going to see more and more speed rivaling consoles in terms of interactivity and graphics. Gamers want to game all the time, whether they’re in the house or on mobile. They don’t really choose one or the other. Nobody just wants to game on a phone or a tablet. They game across platforms. That’s our job, to make sure that we’re there whenever and wherever the gamer needs us, whether it’s mobile or console, or a little of both. Tegra technology continues to evolve very, very quickly and the graphics and interactivity gets better and deeper. We’re seeing deeper stories and more interactivity on portable devices like SHIELD that are going to rival consoles.
Speaking of cross platform, the Shield also allows you to see games and play them straight on to your device or take your video games and play them on a TV. What does that open up?
On the most basic level, a screen is a screen is a screen. A screen’s in my pocket and it’s also the TV and the PC. To be able to go across platforms, you’re going to see gamers demand that more and more. Whether it’s one IP that I really love that I can play across screens or a new game that just came out on Android that I’d love to see up on a big screen, I think that’s really innovative. That’s what consumers want. They want that ease. At some point they expect to be able to do it all on that screen.
What have you been able to learn about your customers through PowerUp Rewards when it comes to the mobile gaming space?
We know they’re all mobile gamers. All of our customers have at least a cell phone and we know more and more have a tablet. They’re interested in fresh, new innovation and new games. We’re now in the mobile gaming space with Kongregate, which is publishing mobile games. We’re able to find out what our customers want and deliver that to them. We’re able to tell that consumer directly through PowerUp about new games. Discoverability is really good for us. The PowerUp consumers really appreciate that.
