I wouldn't mind this (hey, I'm going along with whatever seems suitable), but I fear that announcing the title early and accepting pre-orders will not solve anything but just move the feeding frenzy ahead. I mean, people would be just as disappointed (if not more) if a title is announced early, and then sold out based on pre-orders before it is there.
The alternative would be to announce the title ahead of the game, but not accept any pre-orders until the CD is in stock, at which time there's probably going to be a server crash when the 1500 copy limited box set of Back To The Future arrives.
