Inteesting move. If they could lessen the information embargo and release some tests, at least with the DX11.1 renderer in BF4, then it could have a huge impact on the sales. But even this move could be some "sensing of the watters", about how much buyers can line up there.
I would love to get my hands on the card, but with nothing reasonably working to stick it into, it would not be usable for me much
/me off to fix the AGP problems on my mobo...
PS. IMHO the deposit says - yes, I'm serious about getting the card. And IMHO I would be very surprised, if there was not a huge demand for the card, because it (seems) to offer beyond Titan performance with notably lower (we hope) price.