Retail Radar: GameCube Zelda confusion

Last week, Nintendo announced that it would be selling the Japanese GameCube version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess exclusively through its online store. This begged the question of whether or not the game would be made a Web-order exclusive elsewhere, as well, a question Nintendo representatives didn't answer at the time.

Now the GameCube edition of the game has disappeared from the online stores of gaming specialty retailer GameStop and that of its subsidiary, EB Games. As of press time, a GameStop representative had not responded to GameSpot's requests for comment on the product's removal from the sites.

While GameStop may not be soliciting preorders for the current-gen Twilight Princess anymore, other online retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy still have product pages for the game up and are taking preorders. Nintendo's own official Zelda site also still lists the GameCube Twilight Princess as coming out December 11.

Originally announced in 2004, the GameCube edition was once scheduled to release day-and-date with the Nintendo Wii system and then was pushed back a few weeks to December 11 in the US, with no reason given. The GameCube version was on display at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2005 and drew hours-long lines from hordes of Zelda fans, but it was nowhere to be seen at this year's E3, with the Wii lineup (including the next-gen edition of Twilight Princess) instead being the cause of the lines around Nintendo's booth.

[UPDATE] Since this story went live, Nintendo confirmed that the GameCube version of the game is still going to be released in stores as expected. "Online reports about the Nintendo GameCube version of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess are incorrect. The amazing game will be available at retail outlets nationwide on December 13," a rep said in a statement.

Please note, while retailer listings frequently jump the gun on publishers' product announcements, they should not be taken as final confirmation of a game's existence, nor should the absence of a listing be considered as proof that a game isn't coming to a given platform.