"RUMOR #1: Doom 3 has gone gold and will ship August 3.
Source: A scan (pictured) that surfaced in the GameSpot Forums and a GameStop.com listing.
The official story: Activision would neither confirm nor deny the scan's authenticity, but did say authoritatively that "id Software has made no announcement that Doom 3 has gone gold." Twice.
What we heard: When the scan surfaced at the end of the week, gamers who've waited years for the shooter pounced on it like a pack of information-starved hyenas. It appears to be of a promotional one-sheet like the kind sent to retailers before a game's release, outlining a massive six-month publicity campaign via every means of communication this side of semaphore flags. But the header is what got most gamers' attention. Playing on developer id Software's infamously vague release date, it proudly proclaims, "We said it would be out when it's done...it's done!" Despite the seeming irrefutability of that statement, a closer look at the one-sheet shows it's missing one crucial bit of information--the ship date. Nowhere on the sheet does a specific day, month, quarter, or year appear--other than the May 2003 quote from Wired. (Yes, we've been waiting that long.) Since these materials are often printed months in advance, it's likely Activision has them stockpiled, ready to be shipped out the minute the wizards of id finally hand over that precious gold master. However, the GameStop.com listing is a bit harder to dismiss, since it is linked to from its home page and trumpets "Official launch date of August 3rd, 2004 confirmed!" When presented with this bit of information, an Activision rep first said "I had not seen that," before repeating the aforementioned denial, albeit with a slightly less convincing tone.
Bogus or not bogus?: If you're half as sick about hearing about this game as this reporter is writing about it, then I'm twice as sick as you. Probably bogus. "