gamestop got the go ahead from the publisher, due to some mom and pops letting it out early

lol, wow Im a go check out my local one see if MW:R has a broken launch date too

100$ you say? Hmmm......if everyone on this site reported them we could raise 1 million dollars!

My Gamestop said no.

Like Goddog said, Activision gave the go ahead to certain Gamestops mainly Northeastern states to allow the release of the game early. Kotaku reported on this yesterday.
http://kotaku.com/5399552/northeast-us-gamestops-selling-modern-warfare-2-early-+-update?skyline=true&s=i

My friend was actually able to get the game early. My other friend and I saw him and his cousin on MW2 yesterday night and thought WTF. But apparently it's legit because when you would call those certain Gamestops they would answer the phone and say you can pick up MW2.

I went over to Gamestop with my friend to see if we could get it. I live in the South btw. This was before I saw that article though. They told us that it was only a rumor that certain Gamestops were selling them early and that Corporate send an email saying they weren't suppose to release it. I even showed them a picture on my phone proving that my friend was playing it but they said "they probably didn't buy it from GS." My friend was like I'll call my brother and he will tell you he got it from Gamestop. They still didn't sell it to us.

You won't get banned if you start playing now, only if its a legal copy.