Can't Activision just not enable online play until the release date? They could still play single player, but its not really a big deal. Just either fine the stores that sold the game early or deny them future releases.
But really, with BF3 out now, who is going to be playing MW3? I guess I'll have to try it out before I can say that with finality, but given how crappy MW2 was (compared to COD4) I can't see it being nearly as good as BF3. And this is from a long-term COD fan (since COD1). I guess maybe MW3 is good on consoles?
And on top of that, Skyrim is out on Friday, so who cares about any other games until at least December. Motherf*cking SKYRIM!!