Gamestop has specified the date November 8th 2011 as the release date for Mass Effect 3.

The game's launch trailer from the recent 2010 Spike TV Video Game Awards advised only of a "holiday 2011" release, which could fall anywhere between October and the start of next year.

It's uncertain whether the date specified on Gamestop is simply a placeholder release date  or whether the retailer knows something that the rest of us don't.

The observant will notice that Gamestop actually has the PlayStation 3 version pegged with a November 1st release. We're picking that's just a typo. But wouldn't that be a further slap in the face to the Xbox crowd already reeling from the loss of its one-time exclusive following next month's release of Mass Effect 2 on PlayStation 3?

A demo for Mass Effect 2 is reportedly scheduled to hit the PlayStation Network next week on December 22nd.