Just read that delivery to Canada has been delayed, likely the same
elsewhere.

First shipment of Nikon D200 to dealers in Canada delayed
Monday, December 12, 2005 | by Rob Galbraith

Nikon Canada has delayed slightly the departure date for the first shipment
of the D200 to dealers in Canada. That was originally planned for December
15, 2005, to coincide with the worldwide ship date of the camera. The
release of Nikon's newest digital SLR, says Mary Mulder, National Sales
Manager for Nikon Canada, has been pushed back about a week, such that
dealers can expect to see stock sometime towards the end of the week of
December 19, 2005 at the earliest.
Though we don't know the reason for the delay, it's likely because Nikon
Canada has determined that they need to build a larger quantity of initial
inventory of the D200 before they begin to supply their network of
retailers. We also don't know if any other Nikon sales regions around the
globe have similarly pushed back the release of the camera.

More important: when is the "stripped down" D70ized  version of the D200
coming out? I presume the main difference will be more plastic and less
metal in the body.
I am astounded Nikon screwed the pooch with regard to the holiday marketing
season in the US and the EU on this one. Canon always seems to time it
right, but Nikon never gets their new product out there until the spring.
And if they delay the step down version of the D200 until next fall they
risk losing market share big time to Canon.