Steam release date different then Gamestops... *HELP!*

[Korten12]

So I pre-ordered ArcniaA: Gothic 4 at gamestop and last time I checked it comes out on the 14th, but now it says the 19th, a whole week later. Though I noticed on steam it comes out the 12th.

I called gamestop to ask them but they said that most likely I can download Gothic 4 on the 12th via steam if I buy it there but can't play it till the 19th but that would seem odd and wouldn't make much sense.

Should I just drop my pre-order for the gamestop version and just pre-order the steam version?
has this ever happened to anyone?

also the steam pre-order comes with Gothic 3, which I already own, can I give that to a friend?

 

[pretentiousname01]

Steam will have games for download before they come out. However they will be coded in such a fashion that until steam gives them the okay. al la, the street date. You won't be able to play them.

 

[Korten12]

Steam will have games for download before they come out. However they will be coded in such a fashion that until steam gives them the okay. al la, the street date. You won't be able to play them.

but why would they have the release date wrong..? Why wouldn't they just put the release date the 19th?

 

[pretentiousname01]

If your speaking of the gamestop date. That may be a ship date. Street dated stuff arrives in stores before the date in question. This way when the date arrives its there and people don't get screwed.

 

[Daverson]

The steam release date is usually the unlocking date. Though, there have been a number of cases where steam has got the release date wrong, the most famous example of this would probably be the European release of "Darkest of Days", where the Steam release accidentally happened a good few months before the actual release! (IIRC it was released in Europe for a few hours in September, the US date, when the EU release date was March the next year! D= )

A difference in release date in Steam and stores is usually due to games which are both developed manufactured in different countries to your own, which usually adds a good bit of transit time. (Of course, US based publishers almost always hold back the EU release date for disks manufactured in the EU, to account for shipping... the bastards! =p )

 

[Judgement101]

So I pre-ordered ArcniaA: Gothic 4 at gamestop and last time I checked it comes out on the 14th, but now it says the 19th, a whole week later. Though I noticed on steam it comes out the 12th.

I called gamestop to ask them but they said that most likely I can download Gothic 4 on the 12th via steam if I buy it there but can't play it till the 19th but that would seem odd and wouldn't make much sense.

Should I just drop my pre-order for the gamestop version and just pre-order the steam version?
has this ever happened to anyone?

also the steam pre-order comes with Gothic 3, which I already own, can I give that to a friend?

On STEAM you could download Starcraft II a month before it was released so you could "Have it on your hard drive mocking you". I suspect they are doing the same for Gothic 4.

 

[Korten12]

If your speaking of the gamestop date. That may be a ship date. Street dated stuff arrives in stores before the date in question. This way when the date arrives its there and people don't get screwed.

Well on Best Buy, IGN, and other sites still say the 12th...

 

[Boemmel]

The steam release date is usually the unlocking date. Though, there have been a number of cases where steam has got the release date wrong, the most famous example of this would probably be the European release of "Darkest of Days", where the Steam release accidentally happened a good few months before the actual release! (IIRC it was released in Europe for a few hours in September, the US date, when the EU release date was March the next year! D= )

A difference in release date in Steam and stores is usually due to games which are both developed manufactured in different countries to your own, which usually adds a good bit of transit time. (Of course, US based publishers almost always hold back the EU release date for disks manufactured in the EU, to account for shipping... the bastards! =p )

I think this could be the reason right there. I think it comes out in Europe (or at least here in Germany) on the 12th, which would make some sense as the developer is German. Might be that the North American release date is a few days later, at least for retailers. Steam might still use the European release date or something like that, which would explain the confusion.

Also, I think Steam does the preloading thing regularly now, especially for big releases. It makes sense in my mind: the game development is finished before the official release date, but making the discs and packaging and shipping them to retailers takes some time. But if Steam has the finished bits already, especially parts like textures and music and such assets, which are usually finished even earlier in the development process, they can start to push it out to people who pre-ordered early and spread out the downloading a little in order to reduce the strain on release date. But alas, as we could clearly see on the last Left4Dead DLC a few days ago, this does not always work that well at all

 

[Aenir]

On STEAM you could download Starcraft II a month before it was released so you could "Have it on your hard drive mocking you". I suspect they are doing the same for Gothic 4.

Uh, Starcraft 2 isn't available on Steam...

 

[Judgement101]

On STEAM you could download Starcraft II a month before it was released so you could "Have it on your hard drive mocking you". I suspect they are doing the same for Gothic 4.

Uh, Starcraft 2 isn't available on Steam...

There was something that you could get SCII on before it was released. Must've not been steam.