Since its unveiling at CES 2013, Nvidia's Shield portable console has undergone quite a few revisions. When the company put its Tegra 4-powered Android device in gamers' hands at PAX East in March, it found enough dissatisfaction with its ergonomics to perform a significant physical redesign. Since then, Shield demo units have toured the globe, from Computex in Taipei to E3 in LA, and now Nvidia's addressing the other major concern expressed by those who've tried it: the price.
Shield pre-orders began at $349 roughly a month ago, but Nvidia's slashing that cost to $299 and officially confirming June 27th as the release date for its clamshell console. Anyone who's already put in a pre-order will be charged the lower price, and pre-orders are open at Newegg, Game Stop, and Nvidia's own Shield page for the new amount. Back at Computex earlier this month, we got to spend some time with the first production unit to roll off the Shield assembly line, which you can explore in the gallery below. It's actually a direct match for the production prototype that Nvidia demonstrated in mid-May, so for more impressions on its handling and operation, check out our hands-on preview.
