The Truth About Gamestop...

Just a Disclaimer: I'm not going to say whether I think Gamestop sucks or not in this. This is not a piece about whether its the best place to buy your games are not. I'm writing this to, TRY to clear up an issue thats been appearing with many of my online friends & people I don't know too. So, just wanted to make it clear: I'm not coming out against Gamestop (or for them even).

I'm just trying to tell you something thats TRUE here.

Warning: its kinda long. Just trying to cover everything. If you have any questions, please ask via twitter (random person question) or facebook (friends).

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The Truth About Gamestop's "release dates" for some Nintendo games is the whole title to this blog entry. Thought that was a bit too long, so I just decided to call this The Truth About Gamestop.

Now every so often some friends (via Facebook) & random people on the internet (via twitter) tell me that they have heard a RELEASE DATE for Animal Crossing 3DS. And I have to tell them, every time, that its NOT a real date. I have no fun in delivering that news. Believe me, I want a release date! I want the game NOW in fact!

But the truth is...Nintendo has NOT revealed a date for Animal Crossing 3DS yet. Nor have they revealed a date for Paper Mario, Luigi's Manison, or Fire Emblem.

The release dates that Gamestop (and probably other places too) lists for the above games are MADE UP.

Gamestop makes up dates for some games so that people can pre-order (pay ahead of time) games that don't have an official release date. I'm sure they don't just do this only for Nintendo games. They probably do that for other systems too. I can't speak to that though. I only know about Nintendo games.

These dates that Gamestop makes up are called PLACEHOLDER DATES.

They change these dates every soon often, usually when the date they had before has already passed, but sometimes if it doesn't look like the game is coming anytime soon, they'll pick a random later date (like August 2nd or something).

A good sign, in the U.S, that the date Gamestop is showing is NOT real is this: In the U.S. Nintendo only releases games on Friday or Sunday. Nintendo does not release games on Tuesday or Wednesday like other systems/developers. Most of the time its Sunday that their big games come out, but lately they've been releasing some on Fridays too.

So if you see a date from Gamestop and you look into August and see that its not a Friday or Sunday, then its definitly NOT the real date.

That said, even if it is a Sunday or Friday, you still might not be able to believe Gamestop.

The rule all Nintendo fans (especially Crossing fans---who are REALLY REALLY REALLY tired of waiting for this game) should live by, imo:

DON'T BELIEVE A RELEASE DATE UNTIL YOU SEE IT FROM NINTENDO.

If Nintendo hasn't announced a date, then its not true. Its either a rumor or a placeholder date.

Nintendo reveals release dates through press releases and sometimes through Nintendo Direct. Usually they do NOT reveal release dates durning their E3 presentation.

Crossing might (aka BETTER) be shown as a game coming this year, but they won't be like "Here's the release date". Ditto for any other games they show at E3. (and ya, probably no Wii U release date at E3, though I suppose you never know...)

Now, they may reveal the date online via press release during E3...BUT if they wait that long to reveal a date, then its likely Crossing won't be out till later this year...

So let's just HOPE we see a date BEFORE E3 IN JUNE.

Anyway, I hope this clears things up.

Just please keep your eyes open for a press release or Nintendo Direct (or both) from Nintendo. It could come at any time. Nintendo likes to SUPRISE people with dates for games (not just Crossing---they do it with ALL their games. Its so annoying). Ugh.

Also, a good source for release dates for games, is Nintendo Life. They are always reporting on things as soon as Nintendo announces it.

Oh and I'll be blabbing the date all over facebook & twitter too when its revealed. So don't worry. If you don't feel like looking for that press release/Nintendo Direct, then just stay tuned to me on twitter (@df2506) or facebook (if your a friend).

In the meantime, please don't believe Gamestop.