My eagerness for next week has me thinking back to a couple of weeks ago.

Next week is, of course, the release of Halo 3 on September 25. A couple of weeks ago was when I set out to buy myself a copy of Medal of Honor: Airborne on its release date.

Only...it wasn't really a release date.

And that, to me, is a perfect symbol of where the video game industry is lagging behind more established entertainment industries such as movies on DVD.

If you hadn't noticed, new DVDs almost always come out on a Tuesday. Much like most movies being released in theaters on a Friday (or, more rarely, a Wednesday), you know that if a movie is coming out on Tuesday, you can go out and buy it that Tuesday. I've done that with a number of movies - just wander over to that Best Buy near to the office and pick one up.

No big deal.

But for games it can be more iffy.

I'm not talking about accidental early releases - such as stores selling Bioshock the Monday before it was supposed to release, or people who've already bought copies of Halo 3 from confused retailers.

Instead, let's look at the difference between the release of what is unquestionably a top tier game in terms of advertising and anticipation (Halo 3) and what is, arguably, a middle tier game released by a very large end company (EA's Medal of Honor: Airborne).

The release date for Medal of Honor: Airborne was given as a Tuesday (the 4th of September). Excited to get the game that I'd tried at E3, I gathered up my huge stack of trade-ins and braved the rush hour traffic to head to the Tysons Corner Mall and the GameStop up there.

"Hello, kind sir!" I said. (Actually, I didn't. But whatever.) "Do you have Medal of Honor: Airborne and Bioshock for the Xbox 360?"

"Uh, I think we have Bioshock," responded the clerk, designating someone to go check, "but today is the shipping date for Medal of Honor. We won't have it until tomorrow."

Flashback two weeks: My coworker left work on Monday, August 20th, hoping to find a copy of Bioshock being sold early that night. Alas, he was fruitless in that search, but as soon as he finished with his incredibly enjoyable meetings the next day he was right into a store, buying a shiny new copy of Bioshock.

"Ahhh, I thought that I would be able to purchase it today."

"Sorry!"

"Thank you then," I said, taking my games back with me to my car, not even taking the time to go buy a cigar or get my shoes shined. I was THAT miffed.

The next day, instead of braving mall traffic, I simply scooted down Washington Boulevard and hit the GameStop at Ballston. That's where I have my pre-order in for my Legendary edition of Halo 3.

Being a Wednesday and all I had to ask. "Halo 3 comes out on September 25th, right? That Tuesday?"

"Yep!"

"When will I be able to pick up my copy?"

"Well, you'll be able to pick it up at midnight."

"Midnight of the 25th, of the 24th, or the 26th?" I ask, being deliberately obtuse.

"Uhhh...if you show up Monday night at like 11:55 PM, we'll be able to give you after the clock strikes midnight."

"Ahhh!" You see, that'd been my master plan all along. For Halo 2 I'd made the mistake of pre-ordering it at a store that, while close to my office, was far from my house, and since I was working on-site at the time, I was never anywhere near my office - thus forcing me to make a long drive late at night to get it. By ordering it at Ballston Mall, I can Metro to the store, drink until it's released, then stagger out to the Metro (or more likely a taxi) to go home and play it for a while.

But that led to the question:

IF all three games had a release date of the same day of the week, why did I have to wait until Wednesday to get Medal of Honor?

Was Bioshock the "standard" movie release, Medal of Honor the straight-to-one-theater-then-to-DVD movie that isn't pre-screened for critics, and Halo 3 the blockbuster that starts right away?

I'd argue that Bioshock would've/could've/should've been bigger, perhaps, than a "standard" release. But still - ignoring the "right at midnight" PR blitzes that typify some releases like Halo 3 or Madden - why couldn't I buy Medal of Honor on the day I was told it would be released?

All I'm looking for is consistency. I want to know, when I go out to the store, having read the release date, that it's going to be there...not that it's a "shipping" date, not that it's anything else - give me a date, and let me buy it then.

THAT is something that I find discouraging. If I'd had any idea that it might not be released that day, I would've called first to ask - but I shouldn't have to. I don't have to call Suncoast or Best Buy or Target to ask "hey, was Action Movie released today, or was today just the shipping date?"

Seriously: it annoyed me so much that I almost didn't bother.

And it did mean that I won't bother to go to that branch of the store again. I know that's basically nothing - criminy, I'm going to the SAME CHAIN OF STORES to buy it the next day - but all the chains are culpable. How can we get the publishers and distributors to be consistent?