I don't understand how any release schedule could possibly even be contemplated at this stage. As far as I'm aware, the alpha testing is just server stress assessment (and possible server improvements), not bug testing. I thought beta was for bug testing. Until we really start pulling the beta appart, how will anyone know what sort of big bugs we'll/they'll run into, let alone how long it will take to remedy those issues, as well as act on general feedback even to a tiny degree? It's like trying to predict how many ripples you'll get from skipping a stone that you haven't even found yet...

I believe Yoshi-P will not rush the beta and will finish the job properly. To me, that says no possibility of even conceiving a release date until the beta is mostly over, when they've identified the biggest issues, completed most of the rebuilding for further testing, etc. Even then, there's no telling what could come up at the last minute so even a next to last minute estimate could be completely wrong. If he were to really decide a date most of a year in advance, that would seem like directly going back on his word that he wouldn't rush the testing. It would mean running the show to a time frame rather than running it to its real destination, wherever and whenever that may be.