Enter more random speculation...
I pre-ordered it awhile ago, and on October 16th (several days after the order) I received an email saying the ship date would be 2-3 weeks. That would put it at about the first week of November. I also seem to recall reading October 31st somewhere (*late* October:-), which would corroborate this.
The way I see it: as long as I have it in my hands before Christmas Holiday I'm happy!
msykes