where is Shipped pre-order SF, isnt we getting 7 days early?

i am still waiting from Best Buy, as it said on station/sony's ads, or that is completly misleading selling fraud or ads is confusing.
what it said, we suppose to get them 7 days early before launch date?
i assumed that we could install early and wait for that patch day comes.

please explain if i do get misunderstood and thinking it was gimmick sale pitch, help me understand better.

1. Drive to Best Buy or EB games.
2. Walk in the store and Pre-Order it in person.
3. Pick it up on the 16th.
I've also heard, through the many, many, numerous other posts about this same topic, that Amazon and possibly others ship for delivery on the 16th.

For Gamestop you can still select in-store pick up from their website but i'd suggest going to the store in person. It's a minimum of $5 down but it comes off the price the day you pick it up.

http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/Pro...roduct_id=76309

I pre-ordered from Amazon and my ship day is the 22nd as I use their Free Super Saver to avoid delivery charages. But I don't see how pre-orders will get to play 7 days early unless they e-mail a code which allows a download until the actual box arrives.

Tyrus@Butcherblock wrote:

There seems to be some confusion over the release date. Officially it's the 23rd, but so many people are getting it on the 16th (or slightly later for some, but we won't go there) that people are referring to a release on the 16th.
Retail stores in the US should have it for the 16th. If you are getting it shipped, only Amazon.com offers arrival by the 16th as far as I know, and again, only to the continental US.

Maroger wrote:

Odd, it shows the release date on Amazon as the 16th. But if you are choosing the free shipping, it will be delivered later. All of the US stores say the 16th release on the boxed editions... that I have seen anywho.

huh, ok, so the stores get them on 16th, but what really "offical" launch date, or expansion patch update event?

i think getting the new expansion hard copy in advance sound good idea and then in few days or a week before patch day to open new areas, so that way no one get head start or getting stuck of trying to play catch up if other got most of "heritage or signature" quest out of pattern or too far behind like i had in KoS trying hard to keep up but never got finish Claymore series as my old guild were so selfish not helping, and having difficulty keeping up with EoF while still stuck in KoS, that why i quit playing EQ2 when Kunark was just being released,
i came back last Dec 2009 when i heard about guild halls and soon release SF, and now i am in better friendly guild helping me catching up, so i do want to avoid unwanted frustrations, now i am in middle of TSO's Chapter 5 and can go back to finish Kunark when i want to finish later.
now i am very close to finishing Claymore, but need good raid team which my guild dont have enough members or healers to support.
raid quest series is a disgrace to small guilds that cant do or able form any alliances, devs need to think twice before label them as quest, some are already greyed and unfinishable. i have 10-15 old quests tied in to the raid zones, taking up 75 quest slot limits, and soon running out of slots, and deleting is out of question and impossible.

Tyrus@Butcherblock wrote:

See, this is just another reason among many that this entire debacle was a bad idea.
Release date is the 16th. No matter what anything else says, that's when the expansion and GU hit. However, only owners of the retail box or those in select countries will be able to play on the 16th. Those purchasing the DD in the U.S. and Canada cannot start until the 23rd.
The word "headstart" is deceptive inasmuch as you are getting the game at launch, not before. (Which is good because it is 6 days before launch now and it still isn't done, and stuff.) A more accurate description is that it is a 7 day delay if you purchase the DD.

Kurgan@Everfrost wrote:

correct
retail box = 02/16/2010
digital download = 02/23/2010
semantics on if it is a headstart or a delay, exaclty like the glass is either half full or half empty

1. The expansion becomes activated on the servers on the 16th.
2. The game probably will be mailed out by the retail distributors on the 15th. If you didn't pay for overnight shipping there's no guarantee you'll get it by the 16th.
3. Retail locations, such as a physical Gamestop Store recieves their game shipments via overnight shipping, so they should have the game for you to pick up on the 16th without paying for any postage, if you choose the pick up from store option.
3. Digital Download becomes available one week after the 16th.

The official release is the 23rd. However, if you "pre-order" a retail(box) copy, you get a 7 day head start. Hence why Best Buy, Wal-Mart, GameStop, Amazon all report it shipping on the 16th.

Wingrider01 wrote:

Very well put.
Preya@Antonia Bayle wrote:

Again, why it was a bad idea.
Official release date is 2/16. You don't have to pre-order to play on the 16th, just buy a retail version.

Bammur@Nektulos wrote:

Let's get serious here. The release date is February 16th. The penalty for Digital Download in the U.S. and Canada is to not play until February 23rd. It's something I hope they do not repeat in 2011.

feldon30 wrote:

Heh yeah it does seem unlikely that they will do this one again. Even my dog only ran into the ranch slider once.

shaunfletcher wrote:

Dogs can learn quite fast. Do you really believe SOE can? They destroyed SWG with the NGE and now they try to do the same with EQ2...

Ok so i live in Europe and cannot drive to a store and buy a copy to play on the 16th and webpage says digital download, which is only way ive ever recieved expacs in the past, is not available till the 23rd?
Is this true that us players are going to be playing the expac a whole week before me? I play on nagafean server and playing a week behind everyone else i just cannot imagine, id rather delete my sub that start a new expac while guys have already reached lvl 90. Last expac i was 1st lock worldwide to have the full set pf pvp armour and id planned to do same again. Can someone please clarify this issue for the european based players who havent orderd box's from Amazon etc. I keep hearing rumours that ther will infact be a dd dowload option for euros on 16th true false?

Thanks

Kurgan@Everfrost wrote:

If you can find it in a retail brick and mortar - most of teh stores here, ebgames, gamestop, etc carry about 7 PC titles in stock and if they are not on the top 10 list they are not carried. Of the 3 stores locally that I deal with ALL of the managers specificly stated that if you wanted the expansion on the early retail release date - pre oder it because other then that the coroprate buyer for the chains did not plan on ordering a single additional copy over what was turned in from the stores as a preorder, those not on preorder would be shipped to the stores for 02/23/2010 shelf date
BB - almost exactly the same - corporate will order a few additional copies per store but the majority of the shipment is for preorders only
Sorry the posted offical release date of the expansion is 02/23/2010

Deathblast@Nagafen wrote:

follow the main thread - they will have a IP restricterd DD download for you.

Wingrider01 wrote:

My local gamestop has an empty box of EQ2 sentinals fate, and a collectors editions empty box in their preorder display along with some other console and PC games coming out. Plus there was an ad for SF right on the gamestop homepage when I went there to preorder my copy. I didn't ask how many additional copies they will be ordering, but as long as the preorder box is on display I'm pretty satisfied.
Now when i went to Best Buy and asked about the game, they said they wouldn't be carrying it at all and that I should check on the website to see if it may be available there.

Wingrider01 wrote:

Not on SOE's website.
"Retail Release Scheduled for February 16, 2010"