A note about the release date - please read before posting
First of all,
the official release date of Alan Wake is TO BE DETERMINED. It will remain that way until Remedy/Microsoft Game Studios say otherwise.
When will that happen? To quote Remedy:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
MikaRMD The release date will be published when everything is ready for it. Do not believe anything you may read on websites other than www.alanwake.com or www.remedygames.com
I will personally guarantee that the release date information (when official) will be available here on the boards posted by a Remedy employee. Which makes these boards kind of special... 
http://www.alanwake.com/forum/showpo...4&postcount=16
In our experience, a
large number of websites and online retailers report what we call placeholder or 'speculative release dates'. In other words, they�re making an educated guess until the real date is published. Unfortunately, while they may have their reasons for doing this, as far as I'm concerned this misinformation is both confusing to you and unhelpful for us. So again, unless you hear official confirmation from Remedy (not forum staff); please consider these dates as nothing more than rumour/placeholder.
Moreover, please do not post threads about possible release dates, because they will be locked (and possibly deleted).
To illustrate the point, the following is a (non-exhaustive) list of some of the dates that have proven false.
Confirmed as false:
November 15, 2005 - cheatcc.com
November 29, 2005 - Play.com
September 1, 2006 - Play.com
29th September, 2006 - Amazon UK
October 10, 2006 - gamelife.fi
January 1, 2007 - EBGames
January 5, 2007 - Play.com
January 31, 2007 - Bestbuy
January 2007 - IGN
July 6, 2007 - Eurogamer
July 7, 2007 - Play.com
December 2007, cheatcc.com
February 29, 2008 - Gameplay
March 13 2008 - unknown site
March 21, 2008 - unknown Xbox360 site
March 21, 2008 - Amazon.co.uk (For PS3!?)
Pending:
September 5th/30th, 2008 - Amazon.co.uk
September 21, 2008 - gamelife.fi
September 26th, 2008 - Gamefaqs
September 26, 2008 or TBA 2009* - IGN
October 1, 2008 - Amazon.com
October 31, 2008 - Gameplay
November 28, 2008 - Play.com
December 31, 2008 - EB Games
December 31/January 2, 2009 - Gamestop
The eagle-eyed members of the forum will notice a few repeat offenders in that list.
Further things to wary of:
*
Fake box art (using screenshots circa 2005/6).
*
Lack of previews, reviews, and marketing/promotion
*
People who claim they have insider info - almost certainly just seeking attention.
*
Inconsistent dates
*
Fiscal quarters and constantly changing dates...
...You should especially be wary of dates that fall within a week of the beginning and end of the fiscal quarters:
* 1st Quarter: October 1 � December 31
* 2nd Quarter: January 1 � March 31
* 3rd Quarter: April 1 � June 30
* 4th Quarter: July 1 � September 30
Online retailers often use these dates as standard, presumably because they're more plausible (publishers tend to release big games close to the start of quarters - especially around Christmas). It also means you can get several sites reporting the same date, or similar -- again just because it
sounds plausible, doesn't mean it's the real deal.
Furthermore, most sites continually update their dates (usually by 6-9 months) as they're proven wrong or when more reliable information comes out. This is not because the game is slipping behind schedule -- odds are the date was false to begin with.
Estimating a game's release date is like firing a cannon at a target that's running towards you -- the first shot might miss, so you adjust your aim and fire again. You miss once more, but the target is now
closer, so it's a little bit easier to hit. You keep going until you eventually hit the target - even if it's only a few feet away. In other words, yes,
eventually they will be correct, but for all we know, they're just shooting blindly. Believe them at your own risk.
Thanks for reading, and please refer to
this thread for links to the FAQ and more information about Alan Wake.
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