NVIDIA Re-Schedules SHIELD Launch Date for July 31
The lead-up to the launch of NVIDIA's SHIELD sure has been a strange one. At one point, demand had been so strong for the device, that NVIDIA pulled pre-orders ahead by a couple of days, and then, it dropped the price for the same reason. Then last month, when we were just about to see it hit the market, the company discovered a flaw that forced it to delay the launch by at least a month. Things have been a bit mum since then, but we can now say that the launch will finally take place at the very end of the month.
SHIELD is one of the more ambitious projects that NVIDIA has ever taken on, and it's one that has quite a bit of potential. While mobile gaming is huge, not everyone (including me) likes to use only a touch screen to play a game. When it comes to an FPS, RPG or some other often-intense genre, touch controls can slowly begin to drive some people mad. That's one of the biggest reasons why SHIELD, with its built-in gamepad, has so much appeal to a lot of gamers.
Last month, Marco relayed his experiences with SHIELD, and clearly, it seems like it's going to be well-worth picking up if you happen to be someone who likes to game on the go. What I'm most interested to see with SHIELD is how it can interact with select PC titles, running from your GeForce-equipped PC. There's just something about being able to tear up Pandora in Borderlands 2 before conking out for the night that seems awful intriguing.
On the topic of Borderlands 2, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford took us for a trip through his company and home last month, and throughout, it becomes clear that he loves SHIELD and its potential. We'd have to agree, and can't wait for it to finally launch so we can tell you all about it.
