I think the more likely scenario is they were OK'd by Nintendo to take online orders in advance and ship such that they would arrive on release date. Which if true, is a very good move and will result in online stores who do it well possibly receiving my, and many other's, gaming business.

A lot of people don't want to stop by 3 or 4 game stores after work so its nice to be able to come home and know that your game is waiting for you.

Yeah, there's no way they would deflate their Black Friday ammo, otherwise.

I will never trust stores to ship me things such that they arrive on the release date...I do not want to get stuck paying $50 for a game only to get delayed a day in shipping...while everyone else bought it instore.

That's what happened to my friend he pr-ordered Halo 3 off Amazon and he got it 5 days later while all the stores had the game in stock.

it's possible, the game is done... some gamestops have full versions in their wii demo machines.

Of course the game is done...and retail stores almost always get the game at least a week early...the Gamestop I went to last night had GH3 already...that doesn't mean they're allowed to sell it...you'd get your ass sued.

Games arrive early so they can stock them in anticipation for big sales.

This would be a pleasant surprise, if true. That would mean Lego Star Wars within a day of SMG though.