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India’s largest retailer for games, Flipkart.com, has said it will ship out preorders of Grand Theft Auto 5 on 16thSeptember,a day prior to release date.
In an email sent to all preorder customers, it said, ‘The game is being officially launched in India on September 17th 2013. Please note that due to publisher regulations we are not permitted to start shipping before the evening of September 16th’.
‘Since we are going to ship the preorders from Mumbai, you will receive the game along with the freebies that were a part of your order – GTA Double-Sided Poster, Metallic V Locket and Atomic Blimp DLC within 1-2 business days post-shipping, depending on your geographical location.’
The above email was sent to me with regard to my Special Edition preorder, so the wording might vary a bit for those who preordered the Standard Edition.
When contacted by Flipkart, the retailer has said that it will not deliver the game to customers before 17th September, in keeping with guidelines set by the publisher and distributor.
We’ve heard from several other retailers (both online and physical) located outside Mumbai that distributor E-xpress Interactive will ship the game to them on the 16th, but this would mean they will only receive the game on release date. Alternatively, retailers were told that they can pick up the game from E-xpress’ warehouse on 17th itself.
While Flipkart is toeing the line as far as sticking to release dates goes, several retailers in the US and Europe, including the likes of Amazon and GAME, have broken the street date and devlivered the game to customers already. Rockstar Games has said it is investigating these cases.
Grand Theft Auto 5 launches on Xbox 360 and PS3 on 17th September, with midnight launches planned at Games the Shop and Landmark outlets in Mumbai, Thane and Pune.
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