NVIDIA u-turns on its decision to block Hardware Unboxed from receiving GPU review units
Much was made of NVIDIA’s apparent decision to block Hardware Unboxed from having access to GPU review samples. The company has already done an about-turn on the matter though, possibly because of the outcry from reviewers and fans.
Alex Alderson, 12/13/2020
Complaints about companies pressuring YouTubers and reviewers is nothing new, as the likes of Frankie Tech and TechTablets have discussed in the last few months. However, few have caught as much attention as the one made by Hardware Unboxed. According to a tweet posted on Friday, NVIDIA had banned Hardware Unboxed from receiving GPU review samples because it focused too heavily on ‘rasterisation instead of ray tracing’
Hardware Unboxed has not published the full email it received from NVIDIA, but Linus Sebastian read it out on the latest episode of the WAN Show on his Linus Tech Tips YouTube channel. You can watch the video here, but we have also included a transcript of what was said. It is unclear who transcribed the email, but it has been circulating online.
Other reviewers like JayzTwoCents have also weighed in, in which they were highly critical of NVIDIA. Many other popular reviewers and websites have had their say on the matter too, so we shall refrain from on restating the arguments that have already been made.
The public outcry appears to have had an effect though, as Hardware Unboxed now reports that NVIDIA has apologised for the email transcribed above. Apparently, the company has ‘now walked everything back’, which should mean that Hardware Unboxed will continue to receive GPU review samples.
There are still many answered questions about the situation, including NVIDIA’s response. Hardware Unboxed has stated that we should expect a video on the matter tomorrow, though. Hardware Unboxed will probably post the video on its YouTube channel whenever it arrives.
