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 the U.S. and UK premiere of
Madden NFL 09. EA's awaited football sim sequel joins
Line Rider 2: Unbound and
Bangai-O Spirits in North America, as
Summer Athletics and
Table Football debut in Europe.
The following list covers all of the game software we know to be available -- across all platforms and regions -- for the week ending August 16th, 2008.
Games Released in the United States:
Nintendo Wii:
- Line Rider 2: Unbound
- Madden NFL 09 All-Play
Xbox 360:
- Madden NFL 09
PlayStation 3:
- Madden NFL 09
PlayStation 2:
- Madden NFL 09
Xbox:
- Madden NFL 09
PlayStation Portable:
- Madden NFL 09
- N+ | Nintendo DS:
- Bangai-O Spirits
- Imagine: Teacher
- Line Rider 2: Unbound
- Madden NFL 09
- Mazes of Fate DS
- N+
- Sinking Island
PC:
- Dracula 3: Path of the Dragon
- Ford Racing: Off Road
- Line Rider 2: Unbound
- Space Siege |
This week marks the multiplatform debut of
Madden NFL 09, which includes an exclusive casual-oriented "All-Play" version for the Nintendo Wii.
Madden NFL 09 is also slated to see a port for the original Xbox, and will likely mark the console's final worldwide release after several months of inactivity.
Madden also represents one of only two home console games premiering in the U.S. this week, along with
Line Rider 2: Unbound.
Line Rider 2 will also see a port for the Nintendo DS, which hosts numerous other titles this week, including the Treasure-developed shooter
Bangai-O Spirits, dungeon crawler
Mazes of Fate DS, and action-puzzler
N+.
Next week will bring the release of Silicon Knights'
Too Human on the Xbox 360, along with
Rebel Raiders: Operation Nighthawk for the Wii and
Two Worlds: Epic Edition on PC platforms.
Games Released in Europe:
Nintendo Wii:
- Baroque
- Madden NFL 09 All-Play
- Summer Athletics
- Table Football
Xbox 360:
- Hellboy: Science of Evil
- Madden NFL 09
- Summer Athletics
PlayStation 3:
- Hellboy: Science of Evil
- Madden NFL 09
PlayStation 2:
- Baroque
- Madden NFL 09
- Premier Manager 09
- Summer Athletics | Nintendo DS:
- Madden NFL 09
- The Woodleys Summer Sports
PlayStation Portable:
- Hellboy: Science of Evil
- Madden NFL 09
PC:
- Code of Honor 2: Conspiracy Island
- Premier Manager 09
- Summer Athletics |
Madden NFL 09 also finds its way to all consoles in Europe this week, meeting with other debuting multiplatform offerings like
Hellboy: Science of Evil and
Summer Athletics. The UK will additionally see a number of region-exclusive releases this week, including
The Woodleys Summer Sports for the Nintendo DS and
Table Football for the Wii.
Games Released in Japan:
PlayStation 2:
- Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka: Parareru | PlayStation Portable:
- Crazy Taxi: Double Punch
- Memories Off Sorekara
- Omoide ni Kawaru-Kun: Memories Off |
A limited release lineup awaits gamers in Japan this week, with the adventure title
Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka: Parareru premiering as the week's only console release, while
Crazy Taxi: Double Punch and two new entries in the
Memories Off visual novel series debut on the PSP.
Next week is expected to see a similar lack of new titles, though the region's release schedule is set to resume normal activity by the end of the month.