[UPDATE] Just what is Going on with Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition's Release Date?

[FINAL UPDATE] Best Buy has updated their site to show January 28th. I confirmed with an employee, as their inventory system shows January 28th as a release date, and my order is already placed.

[UPDATE 2] Get this shit: Square has lifted the street date and review embargo, so it's flooding the gates. So far, GameStop is selling what they have now, but Amazon still shows January 28th, while Best Buy still shows February 4th (and calls to a few stores show don't even have them in stock). I guess an obligatory "YMMV" applies.

[ORIGINAL STORY] With the marketing campaign in full swing with the impending release of Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition's release date, I started to look into the best place to pick it up from. Since I have some rewards racked up through Best Buy - and the Gamers Club Unlocked 20% discount - I looked there first. I know the game comes out at the end of the month; I mean, the advertising says so.

I go to the site, go to click on "Add to Cart", but something was amiss. It just didn't add up:

Wait. "2/4/2014"? Why does Best Buy have the game listed for a whole week after the actual release of January 28th. I decided to look around. What I started to see was just downright fucking weird. [UPDATE 1] I went to a local Best Buy store to check with them, and even crazier, the game doesn't even show in their inventory system. Now that is just downright fucking strange.

I jumped over to other places I either frequent, or go to only in only times of true desperation. Amazon and GameStop, respectively, both have the game listed as released on January 28th, but GameFly has it for January 30th, a Thursday; what kind of heathen releases video games on a Thursday?

I honestly can't find a reason behind this. I checked over upcoming major releases: Thief still has a release of February 25, and Infamous: Second Son is still showing up on March 21, and, hell, even Titanfall still has March 11. So what gives on a week delay for Tomb Raider? Did Best Buy piss off a distributor that much?

See beyond the break for screenshots of Tomb Raider on other sites.

Start Saving: Nintendo to Unveil 3DS Pricing/Release Date on September 29

As if you didn't need further convincing to be completely stoked for the 3DS, Nintendo has let out that they will release the pricing and release date details on September 29; exactly two months time. Think of this as Nintendo adopting Square's strategy, where they announce the date of an announcement.
They also said that the pricing for the 3DS will "fit" with the current DS lineage. The DS lite was $130, the DSi is $170, and the XL is $190. A lot of rumors have the 3DS pegging at $250, but they'd be absolutely stupid to do that.

I mean, the last time a handheld went for $250, things didn't go so well...

[Via Destructoid]

Dead Rising: CASE ZERO hits August 31 for $5

Oh yea, I'm liking that price.

After many months of saying "oh, it'll be out before Dead Rising 2," Capcom has finally told us when we can expect CASE ZERO. To fill the void that used to be filled by Dead Rising 2, CASE ZERO fills us up on August 31. This is also two weeks after Summer of Arcade ends with five $15 priced games.

With a game that has as much gameplay as it does, and it sells for $5 (400 points), I'm sure a lot of people - myself, including - are retracting their "Higher Quality Games = More Money That I'll Gladly Pay" statements.

[Via Kotaku]

Enslaved, Vanquish Get Early October Release Dates

Good news, everyone! A Good DragonBall Z Game Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and Vanquish get North American release dates. Bad news, they're two weeks apart.

Enslaved hits on the fif, while Vanquish is two weeks later on the 19. Even worse news: Enslaved hits the same day as classic-gameplay inspired Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light for the DS.

It's not that big of a deal, because what's the chance of a gamer with just a 360 or PS3 having a DS? Not so much for you, but for this guy, I'm screwed.

Force Unleashed II Dated, Story Details Leaked

Well hot damn. Seeing as this is my first day playing the Halo: Reach beta, I get news on the release date for TFU2. Oh, and did I mention story details? I did? Good.

TFU2 is going down the line of the "you died" story arc, following the movie's canon story, as opposed to the Infinities story arc the "Vader dies" choice leads down, and the DLC ventures into.

"Starkiller died! They can't do this!"

That is what I should be hearing, but knowing an über Star Wars fanboy, the first thing that come to mind is "cloning," and cloning is the answer here. Despite what he had done, Vader wants Starkiller back by his side, so he creates a clone of him. It wouldn't be a Star Wars game without someone getting cloned. Amirite?

Being a clone, Starkiller's memories aren't all there, so he escapes the lab where he was cloned - Kamino - and ventures out to find out more to the truth that Vader reveals to him. He winds up searching for General Kota, who helps him regain his memories throughout the game. It also appears that Dagobah will be a location, as Starkiller seeks Yoda's help.

All in all, the story seems it could be good, but considering this may overlap Episode IV, we may get some crossovers not seen in the movie. Then again, they may want to keep the movie's story sacred and keep Galen Marek out of them.

Movies....sacred? Ha! Considering the bastardizations they've gone through over the past 30 years, "sacred" isn't something the movies could ever be called.

Alan Wake Limited Collector's Edition unveiled by Walmart, Best Buy

In the ongoing effort to completely destroy your wallets and shelf space, Alan Wake is getting the special edition treatment, in the image of a "Limited Collector's Edition," complete with the tag line "A Psychological Action Thriller." Honestly, I hate when a game that shows this much promise and awesome needs to have lines like this to entice otherwise uninterested buyers to even glance upon the game on a shelf when it's poised next to other, fantastically awesome games, and in Alan Wake's case, it's going to be right next to Assassin's Creed II.

On the Walmart listing for the game, you've got this sporty box shot for the game, as well as a list of your clichéd (L)CE contents (taken straight from the listing):

Hardbound in quality linen, the Limited Collector’s edition is designed to resemble a hardcover book. The Limited Collector's Edition will include:

• Game Disc in box with unique art
• Exclusive In-Game Audio Commentary and Hints by Remedy
• “The Alan Wake Files” – a 144pg book that includes a short story written by Alan Wake and compiles the FBI dossiers investigating the events in Bright Falls, WA
• Exclusive Audio Disc with Soundtrack and Score
• Game Add-on token redeemable on Xbox LIVE for the first Alan Wake add-on content pack
• Exclusive Xbox disc with special content: Alan Wake Xbox Live Theme and Alan Wake Avatar for Xbox LIVE

"Designed to resemble a hardcover book," huh? Sounds interesting.

Unique artwork for the box? Go on.

144-page short story as penned by a fictitious character with fake files from a real beauro? Color me intrigued.

Code redeeming the first DLC pack? Get the fuck over yourselves. You can't simply put that in the game? Why are you doing this? If you're releasing a DLC pack the day of release, then it should have been just included on the disc. That is, unless, you meet one of the two following criteria:

1. You've run out of space on the disc
2. Microsoft told you to

God of War III hits March 16

Only a week off of my prediction, Sony announced through it's blog that God of War III will be released on March 16. My prediction put it day and date with Final Fantasy XIII, which, in retrospect, probably wasn't a good idea.

Also released were the official box art for the game, as well as the box for the Ultimate Edition. You know, where you get your own Pandora's Box.

[Via PlayStation.blog]

Final Fantasy XIII Dated...I Was Close

March 9, 2010 - official date.
March 17, 2010 - my predicted date in iCal.

I would like to point out that the reveal trailer has some guy talking, which I just fast forwarded to the end; I didn't bother with it. Guy says to you "Oh, and I bet you're wondering the NA and EU release date? Well, as soon as they tell me, I'll let you know." The camera pans away, with walls enclosing Guy in them. These walls form the above image, March 9, 2010.

You dickhole...

Before anymore dates are announced, I'd like to lay out my predicitions for what's been given a release window, seeing as I've been getting pretty damned close with these dates.

When I hear "Spring 2010," or "March 2010," I usually think of a strategic date, alongside other game releases. This is how I come up with my release dates, mainly so I can peg it in my calendar:

Dante's Inferno - February 2 (just checked Wikipedia, it's just one week later, the 9).
God of War III - March 9
Resident Evil 5: Alternative Edition - March 30, 2010
PlayStation 3 Sphere Motion Controller - March 30, 2010
Skate 3 - May 11, 2010

RE5: AE could be a bit tricky, as Capcom has not said whether or not it will be a worldwide release, or if Japan would get it first. I don't see why they wouldn't do a worldwide date, as they've got enough material shown that they could very well be sitting on it, waiting for the Sphere to be ready.

[Via Joystiq]

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories Dated, I'm Right...Again

It's coming December 8, just as we all thought.

Well, I can't say I'm right too much, as I moved it to 12/8 on my iCal when I first heard of the delay. Then, when I read about the actual delay, GameStop said 12/8, whereas everyone else was further into the month.