NVIDIA Shield Portable - The Gamepad Question

[Xanthe]

So, I've been considering getting an Nvidia Shield Portable or a GPD XD. I will (of course) use these for emulation. It's honestly quite difficult deciding which portable handheld I will get. The shape of the GPD XD pleases me and so does the game pad controller layout as it looks like an original Nintendo designed controller.

The Shield Portable, however, is supposed to be nearly identical to a Xbox 360 controller...Yeah that will not do. The 360 controller is absolute garbage, in my opinion. The buttons don't feel "clicky" and the Dpad (Which I would use for retro emulation) feels soft. I want to feel the responsive click when I play retro games, because it fully involves me in the game.

If I were to use an 360 controller on a Mario game, it probably wouldn't feel right. I probably wouldn't be able to time my jumps correctly.

This could be a "me issue". Would someone be able to enlighten me and tell me if I'm incorrect. Would someone say the the DPad on the Nvidia Shield would be great for retro emulation? Or should I consider the GPD XD...?

 

[garbanzox]

I had a Sheild Portable for a while. I bought it for emulation. I sold it after half a year of barely using it precicely because the d-pad was garbage. It was too sloppy, often registering diagonal or even horizontal movement when I pushed down. Maybe I had a bad unit, but even if it registered properly, it wasn't nice to play with.

If you're picky about controls, I would consider other options, or at least try to get your hands on a Shield to try before you commit.

 

[Smoker1]

Better to get the Shield Pro (500GB Storage). The Portable eventually SUCKS! Storage is only 16GB, you can Move most Apps to the MicroSD Card, but when you Restart, it will load that last and eventually the Restart/Power On process will become Problematic. Will take 2-5 tries to get it to start properly. Best bet would be to get a GPD XD. Comes in 16/32/64GB Versions. They did have a 128GB Version but that did not come out I guess. It has a MicroSD Card Slot for up to 200GB MicroSD Cards and works great. It has 2GB RAM which in my opinion should be 3-4GB. Other than that, pretty great System. Also has the GamePad Button Mapping ability the Shield Portable has which is a big Plus

 

[cracker]

Get a GPD XD if you want to emulate beyond N64. I have no problem with the Shield Portable's D-pad but I haven't played too many fighting games on it.