NVIDIA's SHIELD is the best stand-alone Android TV device on the market... in an admittedly limited field of competitors. At $200 with an included controller, it's at a fairly premium price for a set-top box (the top-of-the-line Roku streaming gadget is $130, for example). But if you plan to take advantage of its unique PC game streaming capability or NVIDIA's growing stable of exclusive Android games, it's not unreasonable for two bills. Now the pot gets a little sweeter: for a limited time, NVIDIA will throw in a second controller with a SHIELD TV purchase.

That's the Xbox-style NVIDIA controller, not some third-party Bluetooth number. At retail these things cost $60, and considering the quality of the build and how well it compares to the official Xbox and PlayStation controllers, that's more than fair. It includes all the standard console-style controls, plus a volume rocker, a microphone for voice commands, and a headphone port for personal listening or in-game chat. The only thing it's missing is a vibration function. Its Wi-Fi Direct connection means it's not compatible with non-SHIELD Android devices, but it works fine with the original SHIELD Portable, SHIELD Tablet, and SHIELD Tablet K1.

The $200 bundle with two controllers is a great deal if you plan on using the SHIELD TV as a multiplayer machine. There are a few Android TV and SHIELD games specifically set up for that, notably StikBold, Super Mega Baseball, Chariot, Bombing Bastards, and BombSquad. And yes, the SHIELD TV works great with emulators, including multiplayer games. There's no indication of how long this promotion will go on, so get an order in if you want it. The $200 base SHIELD package and $300 SHIELD Pro with its 500GB hard drive are both offered with an extra controller for free.

Source: NVIDIA