release dates

[nightmare beta]

i know this is a dumb question, but i've always wondered why stores have games before the official release date, but they can't sell them.

Why is that and what do the stores have to lose if they sell a game before the publishers' release date?

Back in the day, I mean way back in the day, they used to sell games all the time before the release date, but they quit that ****, unfortunately.

[delas52]

There's legal issues involved, if a store continuously broke the street date they might face some fines, etc.

They ship them early to be sure they are in stock everywhere on the release date.

I agree it's sort of useless.

[|MaguS|]

It's called a street date, they sign an agreement with the publisher that they wont release software till a certain date. By violating the contract they can be sued or fined by the publisher. The biggest threat is that the publisher wont let the store/chain carry their product if they break the date.