Column: 'Release This: Prepare for Launch'

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. Well, this is it. After months upon months of anticipation and hype, both the Wii and the PlayStation 3 are set to debut in the United States in only a few short days. Both consoles will launch with a healthy amount of software already on store shelves, with more to come in the next few weeks. New console adopters aren't the only ones who will have a good variety of new games to choose from, however, as more than 100 titles in all will debut across all platforms in the United States this week. Europe and Japan will see considerably fewer releases in comparison, but can expect a similar rush to accompany the launches of both consoles in the coming months. The following list covers all of the game software we know to be available -- across all platforms and regions -- for the week ending November 18, 2006. Games Released in the United States:

This week marks both a strong introduction for new consoles and a last hurrah for last-generation hardware still clinging to life. While the PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360 compete for software sales among dozens of new releases, this week's meager lineup of Xbox, GameCube and Game Boy Advance titles represents the biggest batch of new releases each of these console will see this year, after which new offerings will be virtually non-existent. On the bright side, if you've been waiting for any upcoming U.S. title for any given platform, odds are it's going to be released this week. The week will see the debut of hotly anticipated launch fare like The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Resistance: Fall of Man, along with other long-awaited releases like Final Fantasy III and Sonic the Hedgehog. The sheer variety of it all should ensure that gamers of all sorts will find something to play in the coming week. Games Released in Europe:

Europe's list is considerably less chaotic than the United States' this week, offering a rather ordinary schedule of releases in comparison. Though no new consoles will be launching in the UK this week, major releases like Gears of War and the multiplatform Tony Hawk's Project 8 should keep European gamers busy enough until the Wii and PS3 arrive. The week will also see the resurrection of a pair of unlikely licenses. While the existence of Asterix & Obelix XXL 2 is not terribly surprising, considering the Asterix series has spanned consoles as recent as the PS2, one has to wonder why exactly the Biker Mice from Mars franchise has been exhumed and made into a cross-platform venture in 2006. This week's Biker Mice from Mars PSP port is set to be followed by a DS version in 2007, with a PS2 edition already on the market. Oh, Europe. Games Released in Japan:

Despite the PS3 launching in Japan a scant few days ago, this week's Japanese release list is fairly laid-back, with scarcely more than a dozen games set to debut in the next few days. Of the seven PS3 titles listed above, Mahjong Kakutou Club is the only one that has yet to be released; the other six launched with the console on the 11th. One of the more anticipated titles debuting in Japan this week is the Nintendo DS' Akumajou Dracula: Gallery of Labyrinth, otherwise known in other regions as Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. Localized versions are expected to be released in the United States in December, and in Europe in February of 2007.