User blog comment:PitchBlack696/Monster Hunter Portable 3rd/@comment-68.225.118.99-20110730213617/@comment-1758220-20110730214427

December 31st is quite literally always a placeholder date. That just means that IGN (Or whoever is posting it) is assuming the game will come out sometime during the year, but aren't sure of when exactly. Besides, December 31st is on a Saturday this year, and North American videogames are always released on Tuesdays.