GC Zelda for Sale Online Only in Japan

But Nintendo says that the game will be out as usual over here, as long as stores want it.

Excitement for the Wii is on the up, but there are signs that Nintendo is getting ready to close the book on the GameCube. The company revealed in Japan today that, in addition to the game coming later than the Wii version, the GameCube edition of Link's new adventure would also suffer the indignity of being harder to come by.

At a Nintendo briefing in Japan on Wednesday, the company said that, in Japan, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess would only be sold through its own online store, according to a report at 1Up.

Quite why Nintendo would limit supply of the last big GameCube game in this way is unclear, but 1Up speculates that it could come down to Nintendo wanting to avoid confusion among buyers.

Nintendo has not, however, decided to follow this release strategy outside Japan. A spokesperson for the company told Kikizo that the game would be out in stores - in part because Nintendo lacks an online retail presence outside Japan.

The spokesperson added: "The decision to stock the GameCube version will lie with retailers in the UK."

This will come as something of a relief to both GameCube owners and those not ready to play such a complex game using the Wii controller. Nintendo revealed earlier in the year that the Wii version can only be played with the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. The GameCube version, while playable on the Wii, can only be played with the GameCube controller.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo