Chibi-Robo DS scrapped?

Source: Last week, GameStop called up customers who had preordered Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol for the DS and told them the game was canceled, according to a poster on the NeoGAF message boards. What we heard: When Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol for the DS was announced at E3 2006, it looked as if Nintendo was ready to make its cute robotic plug-toting automaton into a new franchise. However, the DS game was never positioned as a high-profile release. As the weeks and months dragged on, it seemed DS gamers and even Nintendo forgot about Park Patrol.

The company included the game on its third-quarter release list, and released a handful of screenshots during this year's E3 Media and Business Summit, but it was far from emphasized.

It certainly doesn't bode well for a game when the retailer selling it goes around telling customers the thing's been canceled. Nintendo's initial silence when asked about it didn't brighten the picture, either. However, today the publisher dropped GameSpot a note that reassures those looking forward to the game, and explains why GameStop's preorders were canned.

The official story: "Chibi Robo: Park Patrol will launch October 2. The game, which features an adorable miniature robot who wants to clean up the environment, will be available exclusively at Wal-Mart stores nationwide."--a Nintendo representative.

Bogus or not bogus?: Bogus. The game is still coming out; it's just a Wal-Mart exclusive.