I have a Christmas app that I added to the App store a week ago, and set the "Availability date" in pricing to be November 24th. I just go the notice from iTunes Connect that it has gone live. I think it is a bit early in the season for a Christmas app, especially since we now only get one shot at the New Releases category. Any thoughts about what will happen if I leave the "Availbility" date as November 24th? My guess is that it will go live on iTunes on that date, but may be listed with a "Release" as November 17th, which would seriously suck. Anyone? I don't know how the New Releases works these days...
I don't think anyone knows how the app store works these days. The app shouldn't appear in the App Store until the 24th, but I'm not sure how that will affect the 'New' status. In the meantime, you can give out Promo Codes to generate buzz and hype. I'm pretty sure the game can be redeemed even though it doesn't appear in the App Store (that's the way it used to be, anyway).
This is exactly how it has always worked, unless they changed something recently. I suggest you set the release date to today's date, otherwise you risk being buried the day your app is released.
