Ok, Now it sounds a little fishy?????

[Guest Ed_S]

I have called all around my area in So. Calif. And guess what! They all have it in stock! But guess what again! Nobody and i mean nobody will sell it till tuesday, The "Release Date" I had a guy at EB tell me that there store would get a fine of $5,000 if they sold it before the "Official" Release date. So i guess the release date for So. Calif. is different than the rest of california??Hmmmm?Very interesting?????Must be some covert Calif. deal that has to do with Gov. Gray Davis?:-beerchug

[Guest drobson]

Same thing here in the "Big Sky Country of Montana"! The stores have it, but won't sell it til the 29th. (Except Office Depot), who has it on the shelf. I've reserved my copy from Software, Etc./Gamestop, but they won't let me have it til Tuesday.Darrell

[Guest Ed_S]

Thanks for the idea of Office depot, but, no go there eithier........Just have to wait i guess.................Have a good one in Montana!Ed

[Guest]

Who can figure,I live in Mission Viejo and ordered from Provantage in Canton, Ohio.The product was shipped from a warehouse 30 miles from my house here in Southern California. :-hmmm , I guess thats one way of getting around Gray Davis, although he still got his cut, with the extra charge they added to shipping for the lost sales tax.Monty

[Guest jase439]

I have a suspicious feeling that Office Depot and Microsoft entered into an 'exclusive' arrangement to ship FS2004 ahead of everyone else. I could understand 1 or 2 stores sneaking a few copies on the shelf, but for all intents and purposes - every Office Depot is selling FS2004 nationwide days before its advertised street date. I doubt a national chain like this would be making such a collosal distribution mistake. The fines would be huge. Possible, sure - anything's possible - but unlikely.Unfortunately, Office Depot is nowhere to be found in the northern new england states anymore. Looks like Tuesday, at the earliest.J

[Guest JohnN]

Hey Guys,It's my understanding that those who ship the new version are allowed to do so only if the program arrives on July 29th. (or later of course). Mine was shipped and the notice said it would be delivered on that date, and not before.John

[Azapata87 173]

hi,Weird, Monty I live in Ontario also in SOCAL and I also ordered from provantage and my copy shipped from PA like 2000nm miles away FEDEX ground :-( Dang it I'm really angry :-( Why didin't it ship from a warehouse in Socal. They charged 12 bucks for ground shipping too, huge rip off compared to what people in other states get charged for shipping.AndrewPS. Thanks to provantage shipping from PA I have to wait till the 30th for fedex to deliver my copy even though I ordered the 22nd, past the 5 days money back guerentee too :-(.

[Guest EddieWilliams]

Office Depot is no go in Kansas. I called 10 of them and they all say no.

[Guest]

This is a bit of topic but does anybody know if project ai will work on msfs 2004?

[Guest sssummer]

Ed,You can buy it at CD Interactive in Pasadena. 350 S. Lake St. My wife bought mine yesterday for my birthday. Good Luck.

[Guest nick6440]

HiI also live in SoCal about 5 to 10 miles from Ontario in the city of Fontana. I ordered mine onth 23rd around five pm got a tracking order the next day and on friday morning around 9 oclock just after I sat down to track my order the door bell rang, it was UPS. It was shipped from a store in Mira Loma, cost $56.00. Nick

[gosta 0]

Hi there,I don't think there's any big conspiracy or exclusive agreements or strange deals going on here. Retailers have quoted all sorts of figures for the supposed fines they'd have to pay, were they to sell it early. The fact is, that such fines could only be imposed, if the sales restriction was explicitly mentioned in the supply agreement the retailer has with MS - a sticker in the box saying 'Do not sell until 29 July' is legally meaningless, if there was no prior notification to the retailer of the intended restriction by way of a contract clause. Of course, that shouldn't stop MS from putting such stickers on the boxes - chances are, a lot of retailers will just comply without asking any questions. After all, FS is just one of the many products they sell, so in all likelihood they just won't bother checking the supply agreement to see, if the restriction is enforceable. They're just playing it safe. There is a great economic incentive for MS to handle it that way. If they were to impose a binding release date, they would have to adjust the manufacturing and distribution processes accordingly, as retailers are likely to refuse to accept early delivery of a product they can not sell for another week or so. So, the manufacture of the CDs would have to take place fairly close to the deadline, reducing flexibility the manufacturer would otherwise have had, thereby increasing costs. Same for the distribution, which also would have to be adjusted accordingly. So, the most likely scenario in my opinion is this: Office Depot received a large consignment of FS2004 CDs last week with 'Do not sell until 29th' stickers on them. The manager sees it,and decides he doesn't want this stuff taking up warehouse space for a week, checks the agreement, finds no restrictions and decides 'To hell with it - sell them'. Other retailers receive them, see the sticker, but aren't bothered enough to check the agreement and just assume the they'd have to hold it. And the supposed fines they quote are simply a guess based on the fines stipulated during previous releases of actually date-restricted software (like Windows XP etc). Cheers,Gosta. http://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/images/wxrebeta.jpg

[JimmiG 244]

What's the deal with "release dates" anyway? The sim has been finished and ready for release for months. What are they waiting for?I'm impatient :(

[Guest Air1]

I tried to buy it yesterday at Office Depot in Crystal Lake,IL and found it to be sold out except for one on hold for a guy that was driving two and a half hours to get it, that is dedication. I also checked Circuit City and found that they will not even receive it until Monday and will not sell it until Tuesday. They, however offer a $10.00 gift card instantly with the sale, so guess I can wait.Steve

[Guest Ed_S]

Thanks for the lead , but, i live in Hemet on the otherside of riverside, with my gas guzzlin suburban (454). I'll just wait till tuesday. Staples , 2 miles from me say's it will be available then.Thanks though, i appreciate your help.Ed:-wave