Question About Eye of the North

What does pre-release mean? Gamestop has the date set for 8/27/07. Will the final release be the one that comes out "Holiday 2007"?

Pre-release means the time you can order the game before it's out and usually there's a pre-release bonus pack that comes with that. A thing you should know though is that the only pre-release and release dates that are valid are the ones announced by Arenanet. Anything not officially announced by Arenanet is likely subject to changes or just pure speculations.

NCSoft is making a major GW:EN demo at Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) which ends on Aug. 26th. This is most likely where the on-line stores are getting their idea for a release date.

But, as tijo stated, nothing is official until ArenaNet announces something.

I hope there's a Collector's Edition, because I'm buying that (as much as I have the urge to click on the "Buy Now!" button for the preorder) :P