3dfx has begun shipping its much-anticipated Voodoo 5500 AGP card and told buyers to expect stock to hit stores' shelves on 9 June.

The 3D graphics specialist last week suspended its shipment schedule for the card following the emergence of what it called "field failures". Distributors were asked to return unsold kit to 3dfx.

In a cunningly spun 'we care' statement, 3dfx's senior VP for worldwide sales, Richard Burns, admitted the company might have overreacted: "In hindsight, perhaps our course of action was overly cautious, but it is better to address these types of issues before a product is released," he gushed in what looked like a rotational paramedic-authored statement. "I am proud that 3dfx took the proper precautions to insure the quality of our product and protect our brand and our reputation for having the highest quality products."

It's interesting, though, that 3dfx hasn't actually said what the problem with the boards was. Suspicion has fallen on issues getting multiple VSA-100 chips to sync up, which might explain why the single-chip Voodoo 4 boards were unaffected. However, 3dfx itself is keeping mum on the issue. ®