We have said all along that the real game changer isn’t going to be the Surface RT, but rather the Microsoft Surface Pro tablet with full-blown Windows 8. The Surface RT hasn’t been selling that well, but Microsoft is hoping things will be different with its Windows 8 tablet. And now we have confirmed the launch price and date.

It has now been formally announced that the official release date for the Surface Pro will be February 9th. That’s a Saturday, for those of you playing along at home. The pricing is right in line with what we’ve heard before. The 64GB model will start at $899, including a pressure-sensitive pen for the touchscreen. Bump that up to $999 and you get the 128GB model. However, neither come with keyboards.

If you want the Touch Cover, which is really the same as the one you’ve already seen with the Surface RT, that will cost you $120 extra. If you want the Type Cover, that will be $130. If you want the updated Wedge Touch Mouse too, that’ll sell for $70.

For Microsoft’s sake, I’m hoping that the Surface Pro does well. At this point, there are so many other Windows 8 tablet/convertibles that are either being planned or have already been launched by their hardware partners like Gigabyte, Lenovo and MSI. Is this the year of Windows 8? Time will tell.

Via GR