I listen to a lot of podcasts. A large part of my day is spent driving 45 minutes to and from campus, so I spend a lot of time in my car. Xbox Live's Major Nelson Radio is one of the shows I listen to regularly, although I'm quickly losing interest. Listening to the episodes and reading Major Nelson's blog, you get the impression that Microsoft is attempting to put a friendly face on the giant corporate brand that is the Xbox. Unfortunately, you also get the impression that both outlets serve as nothing more than extended infomercials for Microsoft products. But, as long as you understand that before listening or reading, the actual information given (hidden under all of the market-speak) is somewhat useful.

The video game industry is also notoriously bad at sticking to release dates. Nevermind all of the delays inherent to any major title (Twlight Princess, Oblivion, etc.). Publishers can't even get ship and release dates right. Usually, the day a game ships is not the day that it will be available for purchase at retail. There are some stores that are able to make that transition in under 24 hours, but the vast majority of retailers do not receive their games until the day after they ship. So who is actually responsible for the availability (or lack thereof) of video games on launch day?

This brings me back to Major Nelson. Recently, Epic Games has been driving the hype train for Emergence Day, when Gears of War will be available at retail stores nationwide. Even though the game was released November 7, shipments won't be fulfilled until sometime next week. Today, I checked with every major retailer in my area: GameStop, EB, Toys R Us, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Circuit City, and Target. Not one of them had the game in, nor could they give me a definite arrival date. Sure, it's frustrating that the game isn't available. But is it their fault if their shipments don't come in? Major Nelson would have you believe so. From his recent article, horrible grammar intact:

"Today IS when the game start showing up in store, with a lot of stuff going on around the country so check your local game retailer to see what they have planned...if they have nothing planned, find a new retailer"

Maybe I'm wrong. But I expect more from the person who has come to represent Microsoft's Live service. Sure, the statement was meant as a joke. But I'd probably find it a lot funnier if I had my copy of Gears of War when I was supposed to. Or if Microsoft started taking some sliver of responsibility for their recent microtransaction price gouging. Or if I didn't have to sit through 55 minutes of commercial podcasting for 5 minutes of legitimate information. Or if...