Game Release Dates Piss Me Off!

Release dates are always (with very limited differences) quoted as being on Tuesdays. I have even managed to stand outside of Best Buy on Monday Night until Tuesday 12:00 AM to get a newly released video game. So why is it that many retailers rarely have the games I want on the "release date"? Gamestop will tell you that a game's release date is actually the Wednesday after the Tuesday that's been listed on the Internet (even, at times, on the publisher website.) Then they tell you that you're stupid for thinking that you should be able to pick up a copy of the game that day.

They say that the "release date" listed on the Internet is actually the "Ship Date" and, "even if we got the game today, we couldn't sell it until tomorrow." I call bullshit. If the game's "release date" is quoted everywhere, and you happen to get it in your store on that day, you'd better damn well sell it to me on that day if you want my business in the future. Nowhere on the Internet, where such information is regularly posted, does the "release date" state that it's not really the "release date," that it's really the "ship date" and the "actual" "release date" is the day after the "quoted" "release date".

Follow me? Neither do I!

This "actual" "release date" is sometimes referred to by pimply faced morons behind the counter at Gamestop as the "Street Date". Okay, I can accept that sometimes it's necessary for a game publisher, who shipped their game the previous Friday, to specify the date it's supposed to be available for sale and to please not break the "Street Date" for the game.

However, the "Street Date" is usually the Tuesday that was quoted as the "release date" in the fucking first place. Usually when that happens the game will actually get sold that Tuesday because the store has a clearly marked letter from the publisher stating that it's okay to sell it on that day.

A Note to Game Publishers

This whole situation pisses me off royally! When you quote a release date on the Internet, make sure the product is on store shelves on that day and available for purchase! Don't call it a "release date" unless you're expecting it to be sold by your chosen retailers on that day. If this is confusing, I'll make it clearer. Perhaps you should specify both a "ship date" and a "street date" for all of your releases. Here's an example:

Electric Farts Press Release: We're proud to announce that we will be shipping, "Fondler IV: Choir Boys Edition" on Tuesday the 18th but the "street date" is Wednesday the 19th. This game will be available to be purchased on Wednesday the 19th at your local retailer.

That way we can avoid all of the confusion.

A Follow-Up Question

Why the fuck are you releasing games on Tuesdays anyway? Who determined that Tuesdays were good days to get new video games? Are you guys fucking insane? I want my games released on Friday so that I can get the game on my way home from work and have an uninterrupted weekend play session where I don't have to worry about anything but the chores around the house and remembering to feed myself. Tuesdays are the worst day of the week aside from Mondays. You get to play the game for 3 hours, go to bed, and go to work the next day. Think of the added benefit of Fridays for game releases. Nobody has to come to work after the release party on Saturday after getting hung over and banging the five beers cute office assistant!

Finally

Let's get this shit straightened out!

Don't quote a release date that's different than the date I can actually walk into a store and pick up my pre-order!

Start releasing games on a day that makes sense, Friday.

Now go forth and comply!