James Bond has to be elusive, otherwise he wouldn't make a very good spy. However, elusive isn't very good news when it comes to a game release. Reuters reported late Tuesday that Electronic Arts' (NASDAQ:ERTS) 007: Everything or Nothing game won't be showing up for the holidays.

According to the article, an Electronic Arts spokesperson said that 007: Everything or Nothing will be hitting stores in early 2004 instead, so that its developers can spend more time perfecting the product.

Though a better game should be a bigger draw -- and this surely means some terrific 007-worthy bells and whistles -- missing the key holiday season seems a serious misstep. Traditionally, such software and the holiday gift season go hand in hand.

After all, the holiday wish list has changed. These days, the popularity of gaming crosses gender and age lines. And the James Bond franchise, with its decades of fans matched with current movie releases, gives it a universal appeal across those lines as well.

There's no denying that Electronic Arts has been a gaming superstar over recent months, with a stock price that has just about doubled from its low for the year, fired on by lots of winning titles. Its recent release of the newest version of Madden NFL scored a touchdown by selling upwards of 2 million copies in its first few weeks on the shelves, becoming one of the hottest titles ever to obsess gaming fanatics.

However, there are a few reasons why this latest news might push investors to feel a little shaken, and stirred. If concerns about skyrocketing valuation weren't enough, some buzz about recent insider selling is also in the air, making this seem a rather uncomfortable time to delay an important holiday launch.

Major competitors such as Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI), Take-Two (NASDAQ:TTWO), and THQ (NASDAQ:THQI) could very well be rubbing their hands, hoping that the holiday dollars that would have been spent on the Bond game will end up in their stockings instead.

What a cliffhanger: Will the charms of the James Bond-inspired title be enough to take on post-holiday buyers' remorse? For now, while Electronic Arts hit a new 52-week high of $93.14 yesterday, it was down 1.13% to $92.09 in Tuesday's after-hours trading.

Electronic Arts is up 52% since David Gardner selected it in Motley Fool Stock Advisor in May 2002.

You can reach Alyce Lomax at [email protected] .