We're getting a lot of e-mail from folks having no luck convincing their retailers to sell GameCubes early. We're getting a lot of angry Forum posters calling us liars. Let's set the record straight ...

GameCubes HAVE been shipped to retailers. Not all retailers will have gotten Cubes yet. Why? Some companies have all product shipped to a central office where it is redistributed. Other stores get stock DIRECTLY from Nintendo. If your store claims to not have them yet ... they probably don't. They may be lying to get you to leave, but arging will not get you far with someone that is lying to you all ready.

Some stores ARE selling GameCubes RIGHT NOW. Do not e-mail us telling us about all the stores that AREN'T. We know that most aren't. We're just telling you about the ones that ARE. If you don't get a Cube from your retailer, that's unfortunate. But it doesn't make what we've said untrue. It's also still early.

If you MUST argue with your retailer, there's only one common-sense thing we can tell you to say to them. "If Nintendo doesn't want you selling them early, then why do you have them now? Why would Nintendo ship them so early to you, just to sit in your storage room. They want you to sell them instead of X-Box."

If your retailer says they can't sell them early, that doesn't make this untrue. Retailers tend to be big companies, and there may be a corporate injunction on selling early. No amount of harrassing your retailer is going to get you a Cube when that manager could get fired.

Nintendo is NOT fining anyone, is not holding back allocations, or otherwise retailiating for selling systems early. Nor is it in some way ILLEGAL for a retailer to break a release date. This is a popular myth, perpetuated by retailers that don't want to look like the bad guy for not selling early. Some corporate big-wigs tell this to their store manangers too ... so maybe some of them beleive it. It's not true.

Nintendo is not going to tell Joe-Blow off the street that retailers are allowed to sell Cubes. They certainly aren't going to make a press release or public statement saying it either. They have a lot of money invested in that date. Don't e-mail us saying you called Nintendo, and that they said it's not true. What would you expect them to say? Nintendo has ordered everyone answering phones to deny a change in the release date when asked.

Yes, I did personally verify this with Nintendo. No, I did NOT call the main line.

So what does all of this MEAN?

First, MOST of you will NOT get a Cube until Thursday at the earliest. That's when many retailers have said that they will sell Cubes so that they don't turn away potential sales.

Many stores are sticking with Sunday due to plans already in process. No amount of begging or pleading is going to change that either.

The point of the story was to alert readers to the fact that it's close, and for some, already a reality. No, we don't have any hard evidence like a receipt or a photo. But most of us here all KNOW people personally that got Cubes and Games on Monday. Hang in there. It's not much longer to wait.