Won't the shop get in trouble with the publisher for sending out the game early?
I reem to recollect the time when Tesco got into BIG trouble with a major book publisher for selling new Harry Potter books a day early before its official release....
Difficult to say, UK suppliers are at the mercy of the Royal Mail with it's highly variable delivery times so some may post a day or two early to guarantee customer satisfaction.
Anyway that problem is really solved now, as dodweb indicates, as the game even boxed product is effectively locked by it's activation date. I may have it in my paws right now... but I can't play it until it's official release date either.
Nice CalMac logo by the way Kevin. We need to keep pushing for our Firth of Clyde/Western Isles scenery & the Calmac vessels + Waverley to go with it !!!