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Gamasutra's latest "Release This!" finds Tony Hawk's Proving Ground leading gamer anticipation in the U.S., closely followed by Beautiful Katamari, while The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass prepares for a notable UK debut - exclusi

Danny Cowan, Blogger

October 15, 2007

5 Min Read

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 bring anticipated titles like Tony Hawk's Proving Ground and Beautiful Katamari to the United States, while The Orange Box and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass will make their European debut. Japan, meanwhile, sees a much quieter release schedule highlighted by DS Bungaku Zenshuu and Seaman 2. The following list covers all of the game software we know to be available -- across all platforms and regions -- for the week ending October 20th, 2007. Games Released in the United States:

Nintendo Wii:
- Avatar: The Last Airbender -- The Burning Earth
- Guilty Gear XX Accent Core (#6 on GamerMetrics, 5.23%)
- Mercury Meltdown: Revolution
- Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis (#3 on GamerMetrics, 9.40%)
- Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure
- Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (#8 on GamerMetrics, 4.79%)
- Victorious Boxers: Revolution

Xbox 360:
- Avatar: The Last Airbender -- The Burning Earth
- Beautiful Katamari (#2 on GamerMetrics, 10.59%)
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles (#7 on GamerMetrics, 4.83%)
- Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (#1 on GamerMetrics Most Anticipated New Releases, 12.15% Mindshare)

PlayStation 3:
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition (#5 on GamerMetrics, 6.86%)
- Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (#4 on GamerMetrics, 7.08%)

PlayStation 2:
- Avatar: The Last Airbender -- The Burning Earth
- Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey
- Honda: SBk-07 Superbike
- Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (#10 on GamerMetrics, 3.58%)

PlayStation Portable:
- Crash of the Titans
- Spider-Man 3
- SWAT: Target Liberty

Nintendo DS:
- Avatar: The Last Airbender -- The Burning Earth
- The Bee Game
- Disney Princess: Magical Jewels
- Fish Tycoon
- Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day
- Fullmetal Alchemist: Trading Card Game
- Hannah Montana: Music Jam
- Power Rangers: Super Legends
- Prism: Light the Way
- Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure
- Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (#9 on GamerMetrics, 3.84%)

Game Boy Advance:
- Avatar: The Last Airbender -- The Burning Earth

PC:
- 3D Ultra Minigolf Adventures
- Company of Heroes (Game of the Year)
- Dawn of Magic
- Fritz Chess 10
- Fury
- The Guild 2: Gold Edition
- Heroes of Might and Magic V: Tribes of the East
- Sega Rally Revo
- Seven Kingdoms: Conquest
- Switchball
- You Are Empty
- Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals

Out of the more than 40 titles debuting in North America in the coming days, IGN's users exhibit the greatest anticipation and purchase intent for Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, which fills five slots in this week's Mindshare results. The Xbox 360 port of Proving Ground currently ranks as the most popular, though the PlayStation 3 version sees a healthy amount of interest as well. Proving Ground faces strong competition on the Xbox 360 from Beautiful Katamari, which achieves surprisingly high Mindshare results, considering the franchise's niche beginnings. The Nintendo Wii port of Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis should also see strong sales in its first week of release, as should the Game of the Year edition of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on the PlayStation 3. Games Released in Europe:

Nintendo Wii:
- Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis
- Thrillville: Off the Rails

Xbox 360:
- Eternal Sonata
- The Orange Box
- Thrillville: Off the Rails

PlayStation 2:
- Buzz! The Hollywood Quiz
- Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2
- SingStar Bollywood
- Thrillville: Off the Rails
- WWII: Battle Over Europe

PlayStation Portable:
- Thrillville: Off the Rails

Nintendo DS:
- Cocoto Racers
- Disney Friends
- High School Musical
- Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth Remix
- I SPY Fun House
- The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
- Luminous Arc
- Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure
- Thrillville: Off the Rails

PC:
- Football Manager 2008
- The Orange Box
- Thrillville: Off the Rails
- World of Warcraft Battlechest

This week's European release lineup is highlighted by the arrival of Sega's Football Manager 2008 for the PC, which currently ranks as the single most-preordered title across all platforms at Amazon.co.uk. The Orange Box and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass should prove to be big sellers in the coming week as well. The week's list also features a selection of region-exclusive UK releases, the most prominent of which include a new Bollywood edition of SingStar and Buzz! The Hollywood Quiz. Games Released in Japan:

Xbox 360:
- Beautiful Katamari Damacy
- Zoids Alternative

PlayStation 3:
- Spider-Man 3

PlayStation 2:
- Galaxy Angel II: Mugen Kairou no Kagi
- Palais de Reine
- Seaman 2: Peking Genjin Ikusei Kit
- Spider-Man 3
- World Heroes Gorgeous

PlayStation Portable:
- Pump It Up Zero Portable
- Riviera: Yakusoku no Chi (Special Edition)

Nintendo DS:
- Banushi Life Game: Winners Circle
- DS Bungaku Zenshuu
- Keiba Navi: Uma no Suke 2
- Oshare na Koinu DS
- Saeki Chizu Shiki Yumemihada: Dream Skincare
- Sansuu Puzzle de Migaku: Gakken Otona no Shikou Sense
- Sonic Rush Adventure

PC:
- Fantasy Earth Zero: Armed Edition

Beautiful Katamari Damacy earns the most preorders among this week's Japanese lineup at Amazon.co.jp, with the Nintendo-published DS Bungaku Zenshuu trailing close behind. Other anticipated releases for this week include the 2D fighter compilation World Heroes Gorgeous and Seaman 2, which serves as sequel to the Sega Dreamcast-born life simulation Seaman. Given the uncertainty of an overseas release for either title, both should prove to be popular among importers in the coming week. [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.]

About the Author(s)

Danny Cowan

Blogger

Danny Cowan is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist for Gamasutra and its subsites. Previously, he has written reviews and feature articles for gaming publications including 1UP.com, GamePro, and Hardcore Gamer Magazine.

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