Nobody knows the release date. It'll come out everywhere the day after I give up on waiting and buy something else. It usually is. As far as the cost, where are you seeing this? If you look on Pricewatch a couple places have it available for preorder. This price is inflated because for the longest time only one store was offering it so there was no competition. Once the board is finally released the actual cost will likely be in the vicinity of $200.