I think the guy who wrote this is confused or something. In the second paragraph he writes, "Microsoft said that they are offering a deal to anyone who pre-orders the handset for the Xbox 360." What handset?
Also, I think he might be reading old terms and conditions on something. When a game is announced retailers will put the end of the year to preorder it by default and then update it to a specific date when it is announced. This is just so they can get preorders in.
Plus I can't find ANYTHING on a reputable gaming/tech site saying what this article did. Also some of this site's other articles are pretty sketchy...
Its gonna come out 9/17. MS bundling points or some promotion isn't enough to delay the game lol