Why No Xbox Live for Goldeneye 007?

We, like many, many other people, were made excited and filled with glee at the idea Rare's N64 classic, GoldenEye 007 coming to the Xbox via Live Arcade.

So, we - like many, many other people - have been emptied of joy by the reports coming from EGM magazine that this would no longer be so.

Apparently two large game companies have fallen out over cash - the news from inside sources at Rare is that the game is 'delayed' because Nintendo couldn't agree how payment for the classic would be structured. Would it be one-off publishing payment or ongoing royalties. The former would be, frankly, mental unless it was so huge that even Microsoft balked at it. Why, on the other hand, royalties wouldn't be acceptable to both parties - it being reasonably standard practice - is beyond us.

Apparently the game is only two months from complete conversion at Rare. Remember that Rare was the original developer for the Nintendo-published Goldeneye 007 back in the mid-1990s. Remember Rare is now owned by Microsoft. Remember that Nintendo and Microsoft are in competition...

So it's also possible that the delay has more to do with getting a good late March release. After all, the possibility that Nintendo's WiiWare will be launching around the same time could be a tiny fly in the ointment?

Or maybe it is simply down to hard cash on the table. We're hunting the definitive reason down.
^{See also 1up.com}