It's just a "big deal" in the sense that it was originally expected to be available at launch alongside the black iPhone, and then there were some disappointed customers who wanted it at launch but were obviously unable to attain it.
Some people effectively lost their iPhone reservations, since the white phone wasn't available. And because Apple had simply postponed the release of it instead of canceling it altogether, some people held-off on buying the black one to wait for the release of the white version. But now it appears the wait was in vain since it apparently won't be released anymore.