Obviously, there are 2 parts to the problem:
1> Funcom's decision to release the game in the U.S. on an official U.S. holiday, then changing all that, then shipping on the busiest day of the retail season (can we say DUH!).
2> Relying on Digital River to ship when released (which they only share a small percentage of the blame here, Funcom was responsible for shipping/release). You can't ship what you haven't received.
Did Funcom ship on the 29th, yes, this is confirmed. Did they ship so that it is received the same day, HAHAHAHAHA, um, no!
Here's what I did (I suggest ya'll do the same):
1> Cancel your pre-order from Digital River.
2> Go to http://www.ebgames.com
3> Wait a day or two.
4> Install, laugh at the other people who are still complaining, and build your towers.
5> Go to the Advanced Tools terminal, and buy a box of Kleenex and distribute them as an early XMas present for all those other organizations that suffer from cranial-rectal inversion still.
Soulmartyr