Patch 5.3 interview with Ghostcrawler
Mystery of the Unborn Val'kyr
The latest patch 5.3 news
All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsAmazon just sent out a bunch of emails about Cataclysm's release date
by Adam Holisky 
Sep 25th 2010 at 11:10PM
Amazon is not a reliable source for release dates. They are often wrong. But it is "odd" that they're saying something now, so close the date. We've previously heard a rumor that Nov. 2 might be another release date, and we know that Cataclysm is on track for a 2010 release, barring something nuts.
Until Blizzard announces the date itself, we don't know exactly when Cataclysm will be released. So until then, just grab a towel and don't panic.
And let me just make it real clear: WoW Insider is not claiming Nov. 23 is Cataclysm's release date. We're just reporting on what has happened with Amazon emails.
Filed under: Cataclysm
Reader Comments (Page 4 of 8)
normaldude77 Sep 26th 2010 12:00AM
Not likely for two reasons:
1. Blizz seems to respect holidays, based on how they handled ICC and the Christmas season.
2. MMO Champion guessed a different date, and they are rarely wrong.
Jerry Sep 26th 2010 12:02AM
Do you really see this game coming out in 5 weeks to match MMO's guess?
Sinfulle Sep 26th 2010 12:54AM
Boub has been wrong before, last time he used an adorable Garfield plushie thread to cover his tracks. That was almost as good as the cat pics by WoWInsider staff but nothing beats a real life paw-to-the-face-to-wake-you-up.
Skrotus Sep 26th 2010 1:18AM
MMO-Champion didn't guess, they leaked a target date from an inside source. Targets aren't always met, delays are common with ANY large project. Blizzard don't give release dates to the public precisely because they can't be certain.
zero Sep 26th 2010 12:08AM
Zero chance it comes out on the 23rd of November. They will not release it just days before Thanksgiving. If it's not ready to ship for a 16th launch, they will delay until the 30th.
Subjectv Sep 26th 2010 12:09AM
Profit-driven companies want people to dive in, not slowly ease in. It generates more revenue, more interest, and ultimately more press coverage. If first week sales were bad for Blizzard due to people waiting to pick it up until after the holiday, they'd get less and/or negative press coverage. Similarly, midnight events are huge interest-generators. If people weren't able to get to them due to holiday obligations, it would yet again hamper the huge release they could otherwise have.
All in all, a bad decision. That's why I don't think it'll be Thanksgiving. :P
Nent Sep 26th 2010 12:13AM
Just if no-one has checked. Amazon.com's listing for Cataclysm regular (instead of collector's) edition states on the website a release of Nov 23rd.
Miri Sep 26th 2010 12:31AM
I ordered a CE from Amazon and my order still doesn't have an expected ship date in their listing...plus no email. Got my hopes up too, lol.
ladyonyx Sep 26th 2010 12:15AM
wasn't vanilla wow released on nov. 23rd as well?
dun dun duuuuuunnn!
Luregas Sep 26th 2010 12:16AM
By the way, first week of November is likely, depending on what happens with Patch 4.0. Given that the "uber chunk" of patch 4.0.1 data has been set for pre-download, the patch itself will either arrive this Tuesday, or next Tuesday (Sep 27, or Oct 4). In either case, that would set itself up nicely for an early November release, since pre-expansion patches have historically arrived a full month before an expansion release (3.0.2 came out in Oct 14th, compared to WotLKs Nov 13 release... 2.0.1 was released Dec 5th, to BC's Jan 16th release, though BC had delays).
A one month time span is possible, though so far the starting point of that span has yet to be established, and for all we know Blizzard could delay release to tweak things.
Here's hoping I can spend much of Thanksgiving week leveling a Worgen. :D
Luregas Sep 26th 2010 12:17AM
Add the word "likely" to my estimates for patch 4.0.1 release. Didn't mean it to sound absolute. ;)
shockologist Sep 26th 2010 12:29AM
While I agree with a lot of your posts in this thread ....have you seen the state of the ptr recently. We are no where near ready for a pre xpac patch. oct 9 or 16th maybe which would give us 3-4 weeks for a nov 2 or 9th release..
Not that Blizz cares about other MMO's but....DCUO releases on nov 2 so maybe they dont want idle wallets to drift too far.
MikeLive Sep 26th 2010 12:36AM
@shockologist I have (been playing it much more than Live), and there's a few already-widely-reported bugs (likely meaning they've been fixed but code hasn't been merged with the trunk yet) and the numbers pass remaining (which will only take one build to distribute and hotfixes to touch up). 4.0.1 is actually pretty damn close to being ready.
shockologist Sep 26th 2010 12:59AM
2 weeks close.....def not tues close
Luregas Sep 26th 2010 2:18AM
I've seen PTRs in almost as bad a shape as this, and yet Bliz still ends up releasing on a normal schedule ("normal" means roughly 3 to 4 weeks after PTR was setup). Not only that, but they're also getting data from both Beta AND PTR in regards to classes, and I've noticed this week that Bliz let different builds with different class changes persist over the weekend. This would seem to indicate a final shot at class data collection, so even though I can probably rule out a release a few days from now, the week or next week after that are still easily possible.
Besides, this isn't the first time PTR has had oddities. Ruby Sanctum only had a short window of testing for a few specific hours on a specific day, and yet still got released in a timely manner.
Noyou Sep 26th 2010 5:24AM
Oct 4th seems on target for 4.01- they have testing Tol Barad with the developers set up for the 27th I believe (which is a Monday).
Lenneh19 Sep 26th 2010 12:19AM
That's a day before mai birthday!!! :D
Tanth Sep 26th 2010 12:27AM
Im guessing Nov. 2nd is going to be more likely. I just reserved my copy at Gamestop yesterday, and the girl said they were being told to prepare for it "the first week of November." Plus, this might be a stretch, but game/movies/music new releases GENERALLY come out on a Tuesday, which the 2nd is. The 23rd is a Thursday before a Holiday. Might just be wishful thinking, but the 2nd sounds more likely to me.
Nent Sep 26th 2010 1:02AM
I hate to break it to you, but you looked at the wrong month.
Nov 23rd IS a Tuesday, though it is before a holiday (in the US)
thebl4ckd0g Sep 26th 2010 12:31AM
I haven't got a mail yet and I pre-ordered from Amazon (collectors edition no less). My guess would be first week of December over thanksgiving week...