Since nobody who knows is answering, my best guess is that1. They want to have synchronized advertising blitz to get the frenzy up.2. They want to make sure there is enough product shipped so that all the stores have it and have enough. I imagine that shipping is not equal everywhere, so some stores will get it before others. By delaying sale date, everybody's got it.Don't forget, this is the first time they have ever done a full release across the planet, so it's got to be shipped EVERYWHERE! At least planetwide release is what I remember being said.Thomas[a href=http://www.flyingscool.com] http://www.flyingscool.com/images/Signature.jpg [/a]I like using VC's :-)N15802 KASH '73 Piper Cherokee Challenger 180

>Best Buy Washington stores no go. Much too close to>Microsoft. They wouldnt dare. Gal told me that they expect to>get it on the 16th.>>BobI had to go out anyway, so I checked the Best Buy in Puyallup on Meridian. Definitely a no-go there, so if anyone's in the area, don't waste your time. :(

Comparing the retail version of FSX to FS2004, stuttering is vastly improved... i.e., you may get slow FPS, but it'll be nice and consistent as long as you aren't panning the view around too much. Blurries I used to have a problem with in FS2004 but solved by setting up my graphics card (GF6800 Ultra) manually... got vastly improved graphics that way. FSX graphics look even better cranked up all the way, but I'm getting around 5 FPS at KATL with everything cranked to the max, so some tweaking is now in order.One oddity - moving road traffic only appears on the major highways it seems... so much for the secondary roads promise.

The traffic placement has been known for months.Jimhttp://www.hifisim.com/Active Sky V6 Development Team Active Sky V6 Proud SupporterHiFi Beta TeamRadar Contact Supporter: http://www.jdtllc.com/AirSource Member: http://www.air-source.us/FSEconomy Member:http://www.fseconomy.com/

>I had to go out anyway, so I checked the Best Buy in Puyallup>on Meridian. Definitely a no-go there, so if anyone's in the>area, don't waste your time. :(Thanks. You saved me a trip. :)(BTW, I live very close to 1S0. Love to go by and watch people flying patterns)

Yeah, I'm bummed, after seeing this thread about people getting it at best buys all over the US, I decided to venture out and see what I could come up with. Best Buy in Lewisville, sales kids were cool and even went in the back, no dice. One even pulled it up and found that it was in transit, but wasn't going to sell it till the 17th!! Had another simmer there looking, he was jonesing also for it.Next was CompUSA down the street on Hebron, the sales geek had no clue about anything, made me realise just how hard good help is to find these days. Wouldn't even go look in the back, loser!Last was Walmart on Hebron and 121. I picked the wrong lady to ask, she had a hearing problem and after spelling the title and saying for the 15th time it was for the PC, she said " oh no, I put all the games out today, nothing came in for the computer". I said, "can you please go and double check, means a lot to my son (lying thru my teeth)"Her, "did you not hear what I just said?!!" *****Another reason NOT to shop at Wallyworld!!******Regards, MichaelKDFW

Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe nForce4 SLI-x16 / AMD

Hey Mike,Bummer! I live in Lewisville too. I guess you can ignore the e-mail I just sent you then, but hang on to my e-mail address in case you run across it around here. I'm off Friday, and it would be a GREAT way to spend the day!

""can you please go and double check, means a lot to my son (lying thru my teeth)""LOL....But I am sorry Mike. I should also thank you though. I was planning to drive around today.. but it looks like its not necessary.:)Manny

"Tell that to CompUSA. We never have everything in the ad in stock."Boy ain't that the truth. I learned that one by attending a couple of CompUSA's "midnight madness" sales. I'd get there right at the start time and everything from the ad I wanted to check out was already gone. I have learned to "file" those ads when they come in. :-grr

I went to the Best Buy in Farmer's Branch. Nothing on the shelf.Got someone to check - he came back and said they were in, some had been put on the shelves and sold yesterday - but the store got an order from higher up to pull them and keep them under lock and key until the 17th.He said it would cost him and his store manager their jobs if they sold any early. Said they were locked in a store room and only the manger had the key.I have no idea if the story was true - but they are not taking advanced orders for FSX.

> (BTW, I live very close to 1S0. Love to go by and watch people flying patterns)Me too. :) I'm not a pilot, but I've adopted the field as my surrogate home airport, both in real life and the sim. That, and the food and staff at the Hangar Inn are great.

ReggieThe software sales person said exactly the same thing here in N GA.They had FSX on the shelf yesterday but received mail to remove immediately. He went on to say all stores have been told to remove it until the 17th. He did tell me that FSX arrived Monday, went on the shelf Tues and should be pulled and no longer available (at all stores) when they open Wed if it has not already been done. No copies were sold Tues. at this store in Athens, GA and the sales person was relieved because in our conversation, the mail that went out to best Buys instructed everyone to pull the product and had some warnings toward Management if FSX was sold to anyone.

>Thanks for the response. Why would Microsoft pay money for>stores not to sell its product before a certain date? That>seems really backwards to me.They don't "pay money for stores not to sell..."They provide co-op dollars for advertising the product's grand release on a particular day. Co-op advertising is very, very common in the retail industry.

I think it's silly that it is in a store, but they can't sell it for two weeks.RhettAMD 3700+, eVGA 7800GT 256, ASUS A8N-E, PC Power 510 SLI, 2 GB Corsair XMS 3-3-3-8, etc. etc.

I used to work in a Suncoast store many years ago. We always stuck to the release date even though we would sometimes get the product a week or sometimes even several weeks before release. Every once in a while a major retailer would break the street date and then someone else does as well. Sometimes these rogue stores get wind and pull the product before many leave the store shelves and not much becomes of it. However a few times it created a frenzy and the flood gates were open. Were were always the last to put product on the shelves but it was not unheard of a movie coming out a few days early because of this. It makes me wonder if FSX will end up being the same way? Trying to do day and date across the globe has got to me a nightmare. Plus many retailers in other countries will likely careless about an official release date. I have a feeling the flood gates will be fully open by early next week and the honest retailers will be screaming for the permission to release as well. As soon as its confirmed that all retailers have it they might grant an early release.