GameStop just doesn't support capcom. Capcom is doomed.

 Yup. Lousy retail support flashbacks. It baffles me how high-quality budget titles like Capcom's Wii offerings struggle to get retail support when there's no shortage of Conspiracy games' titles on the shelf. :S

 Got my copy at a local independent retailer. Guy behind the counter commented that it seemed most stores hadn't gotten it in yet, today, so I guess I wasn't the first to snag a copy. Looked like he had at least 3 more copies to sell. I won't be sad at all if he steals a slice of EB/Gamestop, et al's business.

That's not surprising since Gamestop/EBGames only order enough games to cover preorders plus one or two.

I think the problem here is enough people didn't preorder it.

-edit-

And decided to say screw GTAIV and picked up my copy today at Best Buy, though I did have to ask them for it since they hadn't bothered putting it on the shelves yet. 

^that and since the first one was a sleeper ht mabye they thought this one would move units similar to it

Ok, I just called around to a few stores. Gamestops got between 3 and 5 copies, looks like they got 2 for sales floor + preorders.

Best Buys in my market got 4, they had not yet put them on the sales floor. Walmart & Target had not yet recieved, TRU didn't have it yet.

I called 8 Gamestops, 4 were sold out, 3 had 1 or 2 copies left, 1 still had all original 3 they received. Definitely short stocked.

I'll be damned. It was sold out!

 That was always gonna happen after your original post - isn't irony a bastard

Yeah, and it sold more in American than Japan, so why would it be "nearly?"

And shame on the stores. Can't those corporate fat cats gauge demand?!! 

They only care about what's in your wallet. They'll get what's in your wallet and you will give them.