Could one or both baseball games release a week early?

It seems like every year at least one baseball title pushes up their release date a week (back with MVP Baseball it was two weeks). Traditionally the games are originally slated for the first Tuesday in March and then move up to the last Tuesday in February. This is due in part because unlike the NBA where they mandate that their games all release on the same day the MLB leaves the window open. So these companies look for opportunities to get a jump on their competition.

As of right now no retailers have changed the initial release date for either MLB 2K8 or MLB 08: The Show. However there is the possibility that will happen in the coming weeks or the game will be shipped without warning while containing no street date hold. Interestingly Gamefly currently has The Show listed a week early. It could be that they have received specific information about the game being pushed up or it could simply be an error in their system. But it is certainly curious given past events.

It seems more likely than not that at least one of the games will jump up a week and don’t be surprised if both do. There really isn’t anything to lose by doing so once the game has gone gold and reached retailers.