Retailers reportedly leak Diablo III launch date; April 17?

Blizzard is known for being perfectionists when it comes to their releases, and that's the case with Diablo III. Gamers have been waiting for the game's release since it was first announced in 2008, and the company missed an earlier announced Q1 2012 release date.

That said, the company said during the Activision Blizzard Q4 2011 Conference Call in February that gamers could look for a Q2 2012 release of Diablo III, and if these reports are correct, we could be see the game's release right on 2012 U.S. Tax Day: April 17.

[Tax Day is on April 17 in 2012, rather than April 15, because April 15 falls on a Sunday and because April 16, the following Monday, is Emancipation Day, a holiday observed in the District of Columbia.]

The information comes via some Italian retailers, who posted the launch date. However, it should be noted that we haven't seen the date on any U.S. site; notably, Amazon.com, which has been pre-selling the game since mid-2010, still has no date on it.

Whatever the case, there's good reason to believe we will get a confirmed date soon. The Game Developers Conference (GDC) begins on March 5, and Blizzard will have a huge presence there.

In addition, Jay Wilson, the game director of Diablo III, will be in attendance, and when asked just a few days ago on Twitter how close (on a scale of 1-10) Blizzard is to announcing the release date for the game, Wilson Tweeted a short, succinct reponse to the question: "9."

Earlier, in late February, Wilson also stated in an open letter to the Diablo community that the release date would be coming in the "near future."

Those eagerly awaiting Diablo III hope he meant both of those comments, and if the leak by Italian retailers is true, the wait is nearly over.