I went by Walmart today to see what was up with the Super Street Fighter 4 thing.   I talked to the guy that normally checks out my games.  He candidly told me that they do have the game, locked up in the game cage in the back, but there is no way they could sell it to me.  He was putting movies away and had a box of DVD's marked for the 27th on the counter.  He pulled a random movie out of the box and ran it up at the register as if he was going to sell it.  The register beeped three times and displayed "SALE NOT ALLOWED" on the screen that normally shows the price.  So to get someone at a Walmart to sell you something early they would have to put it in the system manually as some other not restricted bar code.  Which would eventually show up on that stores inventory as theft.  So I don't see how they under the current system would be able to sell one early without getting in trouble with the company.  He did say that whoever flags street dated games or movies as "SALE NOT ALLOWED" sometimes forgets and or misses a game.  The example he gave was that all their copies of Mass Effect 2 were not sellable until it's release date but the Collector's Edition copies were a separate bar code and could go through.   

I went by Walmart today to see what was up with the Super Street Fighter 4 thing.   I talked to the guy that normally checks out my games.  He candidly told me that they do have the game, locked up in the game cage in the back, but there is no way they could sell it to me.  He was putting movies away and had a box of DVD's marked for the 27th on the counter.  He pulled a random movie out of the box and ran it up at the register as if he was going to sell it.  The register beeped three times and displayed "SALE NOT ALLOWED" on the screen that normally shows the price.  So to get someone at a Walmart to sell you something early they would have to put it in the system manually as some other not restricted bar code.  Which would eventually show up on that stores inventory as theft.  So I don't see how they under the current system would be able to sell one early without getting in trouble with the company.  He did say that whoever flags street dated games or movies as "SALE NOT ALLOWED" sometimes forgets and or misses a game.  The example he gave was that all their copies of Mass Effect 2 were not sellable until it's release date but the Collector's Edition copies were a separate bar code and could go through.   

What the fuck

This is absolutely true, at least at my local Wal-mart.

That makes sense, although the collectors edition thing is kinda weird... I buy all my games through amazon though so that I don't have to deal with ignorant retail employees. Having my games cheap and being dropped off at my doorstep is pretty nice too.

" That makes sense, although the collectors edition thing is kinda weird... I buy all my games through amazon though so that I don't have to deal with ignorant retail employees. Having my games cheap and being dropped off at my doorstep is pretty nice too. "

Totally true.  I used to be the department manager for the electronics department at my local Wal Mart.  They can't sell things ahead of time at all.  If they somehow manage it, the store that makes the sale is fined $10,000.  The source of the sale is also tracked through the computer records, and they're either moved to another department or fired. 
 
@SpaceInsomniac: For me, the exact date of release every single time.

Weren't the buyers of the original game supposed to get something in addition to the game?  I only ask because I wonder if you order it online or get it early through a broken street day if you will still get that "other" thing.  Obviously I think the game is worth the $40 due to the added content so that "other" thing isn't necessary but i do remember Capcom saying original adopters would get something else.

" Weren't the buyers of the original game supposed to get something in addition to the game?  I only ask because I wonder if you order it online or get it early through a broken street day if you will still get that "other" thing.  Obviously I think the game is worth the $40 due to the added content so that "other" thing isn't necessary but i do remember Capcom saying original adopters would get something else. "

" @Zombieheadbutt said:

" Weren't the buyers of the original game supposed to get something in addition to the game?  I only ask because I wonder if you order it online or get it early through a broken street day if you will still get that "other" thing.  Obviously I think the game is worth the $40 due to the added content so that "other" thing isn't necessary but i do remember Capcom saying original adopters would get something else. "

It's been announced to be "Color" 11 and 12.  They basically add either a pencil shaded look, or a heavy ink outlined comic book look.   You can see them in this video at the 1:52 mark.
 
"

Big box stores and employees can get serious fines if they break street date on anything.  DVDs, CDs, Games, anything.

Of course, you can use this as an advantage if you preordered.
 
I've been able to get games 1-2 days earlier by going to Gamestop and asking to cancel my pre-order. 
You just say "Can I cancel my preorder? Wal-Mart right across the street is selling the game, and I can just buy it there instead of waiting til Tuesday."
 
Not to mention sometimes they have weird shipping schedules.
"No no, this date is the SHIPPING date, we will have it tomorrow sometime. Would you like to preorder something else?"

" Big box stores and employees can get serious fines if they break street date on anything.  DVDs, CDs, Games, anything. "

At my walmart they had Nier and the new Dead to Rights game out to buy... but not SSFIV... I was just.. "dude? wtf?"

Yup, I use to work in the electronics department in a Wal-Mart and that totally happens.  Games, movies, and other high-ticket items were shipped to us via delivery truck, usually UPS or FedEx, as opposed to the big freight trucks that brought general merchandise.  They are then checked into the system via hand held terminal.  Anytime a box containing new releases came in, you could tell if a sale wouldn't be allowed if the box had a sticker with the street date printed on it.  There were a few rare occasions in the past where those boxes would have new releases but no sticker on them, making them unrestricted by a street date.  Those were releases that weren't really worth restricting anyway.

Well it is 11PM here and I am about to go to my local Walmart and see if they will sell it at 12:01 or not. If they don't it's on to the next one!

Eff you European release dates! Oh well, I've waited for six month I guess I can wait three more days...

Bit late to the party, but interesting insight into how things work behind the retail desk.