no confirmed release date yet, but any spokesman mentioning the launch continues to say "after q4 2011" or "after april 2012", which in business terms are essentially the same thing. while this makes most people expect a holiday 2012 launch, there's a growing rumor that the system will debut in the spring or summer of 2012. i think i've begun favoring that; perhaps something right after next year's e3. especially if nintendo is touting third party support with games like assassins creed and batman arkham city: if those titles are hitting other consoles this winter, it's no longer much of a plus to drop a full year later. granted, 6 months later isn't that wonderful, either, but at least the game still has a "new" twinge to it then -- especially if there's some added functionality (like a "playable alfred!" feature or something silly)
