NVIDIA Shield: Pre-Orders Open, Release Date Coming In July For $349

The NVIDIA Shield Android-powered portable gaming system, which was previously dubbed Project Shield, will be available by July for $349. If you click on the "Notify Me" button on this page and sign up to receive updates on the NVIDIA Shield, you'll be taken to a page that will allow you to pre-order the device.

NVIDIA Shield is unique, because it's NVIDIA's attempt at making Android a respectable platform for the hard-core gamer. Owners of the NVIDIA Shield who also have a PC stuffed with an NVIDIA GTX graphics card will also be able to play select Steam-based games, assuming that your PC meets the minimum system requirements. Big-name PC games that can be played on the NVIDIA Shield include "Batman: Arkham City," "Borderlands 2", "Dishonored," "Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim," "Left for Dead 2" and "Portal 2." Note that streaming PC games to the NVIDIA Shield will be a beta feature at launch.

Considering that Microsoft and Sony are all but guaranteed to annouce their next-gen Xbox and PlayStation consoles this year, we're curious to see whether the NVIDIA Shield can put a dent in the sales of either of those highly anticipated systems.

What do you think of NVIDIA Shield? Will you be getting one? Do you think Android gaming can be appealing to the hard-core gaming crowd? What do you think of the Steam game streaming feature? Can NVIDIA Shield compete with the likes of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo? Sound off in the comments below.