Release This: Bust-A-Move, Valhalla Hit U.S.

Gamasutra's regular round-up of worldwide video game releases, "Release This!", takes a look at every game title we know to be shipping to stores this week, in an exclusively compiled list. This week will see a healthy number of new releases in all regions, with Bust-A-Move Bash! and Valhalla Knights competing for consumer dollars in the United States, while the UK will soon be gripped with F.E.A.R. Japan, meanwhile, will get its first shot at Super Paper Mario, along with other anticipated releases like Persona 3: Fes and Fate/Stay Night [Realta Nua]. The following list covers all of the game software we know to be available -- across all platforms and regions -- for the week ending April 21, 2007. Games Released in the United States: This week's Mindshare data predicts that a fierce battle will soon be fought on store shelves in the United States, with a variety of titles spanning multiple platforms and genres gathering near-equal amounts of gamer anticipation and purchase intent in the days leading up to their release. In the end, however, the multiplayer puzzler Bust-A-Move Bash! edges out all competition to become the week's most anticipated title across all platforms, barely besting PSP dungeon crawler Valhalla Knights by five hundredths of a percentage point. The anime-licensed Eureka Seven Vol. 2: The New Vision also makes a strong showing in this week's Mindshare results, as does Raiden III, a long-delayed shoot-em-up title originally released in Japan in late 2005. Games Released in Europe: An interesting lineup of new releases lies in store for Europe this week. Gamers in the UK will enjoy the PS3 port of F.E.A.R. several days in advance of its planned U.S. release, and region-exclusive titles like Free Running and Zendoku offer further incentive to plan a visit to retailers in the coming days. The week will also bring localizations of several popular titles previously released in the United States. Big names like The Godfather: The Don's Edition and Dancing Stage SuperNOVA are set to clean up on consoles, while Diddy Kong Racing and Final Fantasy V Advance are expected to be popular choices on the handheld front. Games Released in Japan: This week's Japanese release of Super Paper Mario is expected to meet or exceed the success it found in North America last week, and should remain a top seller in both regions for weeks to come. Persona 3: Fes -- an upgraded rerelease of Atlus' popular RPG sequel Persona 3 -- is also predicted to move big numbers in the coming days, as is the PS2 port of the hit PC visual novel Fate/Stay Night [Realta Nua]. Other notable releases include an anticipated PSP remake of the original Final Fantasy, along with the manga-based Nodame Cantabile for the Nintendo DS. Though it seems that the current drought of new PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 software will likely continue on into May, this week's latest batch of releases should be enough to satisfy a cross-section of gamers in the meanwhile. [About IGN GamerMetrics: IGN GamerMetrics is an interactive tool designed to report the real-time behavior and interests of visitors to IGN Entertainment's network of gaming enthusiast web sites. Using data collected from IGN's readers, GamerMetrics shows the levels of consumer awareness, engagement, and purchase intent in every video game title released in the U.S. market.]