Diablo III Release Date? Perhaps

You've probably seen this image circulating around major gaming sites recently, although it's likely false. Earlier today Joystiq came across this image and came to believe that Best Buy released a potential Diablo III release date. The image displays a Diablo III poster, a countdown at the bottom, and it reveals that they're planning a midnight opening February 1st. This can be found at the Best Buy in Rochester, Minnesota. If I might add, it states Feburary.

Currently Best Buy speculates the release date is February 1st and Gameplay states February 3rd. Mike  'Bashiok' Whipple, Blizzard Entertainment's Community Manager, tweets, "@koevii Retailers will not know a date until its officially announced through a press release." Therefore it's expected these are just rumors going about when the retailers believe it will release unless Blizzard is just trying to cover up a leak.

With all the rumors exploding around the internet about the moment, it's likely Blizzard will make a statement about it either confirming or declining the release date claims. Also, keep in mind that as of recently Blizzard has been having issues with their plan of having a global release for Diablo III. South Korea currently believes the auction house that is to be featured in Diablo III is a form of gambling which violates their laws. This is currently holding up the launch date in South Korea, so if they're still planning a global release, it's not going to be easy with these issues.

We're all awaiting further statement from Blizzard about the whole situation.

Sources: Joystiq, Gameplay