Agreed.

However, I think part of the problem comes with the fact that these "franchise books" (like the Forgotten Realms ones or the Star Trek or Buffy novels or whatever) tend to be rather forgettable, and because of this I'd imagine book retailers might be reluctant to sell books that they don't think are going to be popular.
Now, if they want to reach their target audience, why not sell the books at videogame stores like EB Games or whatever? Or how about comic shops? At least there people would be more likely to pick them up.

Most books are destined to fail so I don't see why they wouldn't carry a TES book, IMO I think these probably sell more than most other similar or better books that are completely unique and don't have fans to start with.

While I realize this conversation has gone off topic and now is about the availability of the book, I want to point out that when it was released it was readily available. Publishers don't continue printing the same book over and over, they usually use demand and sales figures as justification for a second and all subsequent printings. The popularity of this novel would not likely warrant a second printing (and since it is a marketing ploy from Zenimax it is even less likely). Your difficulty in locating the novel at this point is likely due to the fact that the number of printed copies has already dissipated into the marketplace. The only likely event that would warrant a second printing would be when the sequel is released. It wouldn't make much sense for people to purchase the sequel without the opportunity to purchase the original.

First, I'm reasonably sure a corporation that's been around for more than a decade knows that you have to advertise. Just a hunch. Second, I'd call a huge article in GI advertising.

I think considering the intended demographic (us) they did a good job. We all know about it.