Release This: Guitar Hero III Hits U.S. Shelves, Super Mario Galaxy Reaches Japan

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. Guitar Hero III arrives on store shelves in the United States this week, promising big multi-platform sales numbers and a nationwide retail scramble to keep the title in stock throughout the holidays. Manhunt 2 and The Simpsons Game will also compete for consumer attention and sales, while in Japan, Super Mario Galaxy makes its anticipated worldwide debut. The following list covers all of the game software we know to be available -- across all platforms and regions -- for the week ending November 3rd, 2007. Games Released in the United States:

It's another big week for new releases in the United States, as Guitar Hero III promises to be one of the most popular releases throughout the holiday season across multiple platforms. Bundled and standalone versions of Guitar Hero III currently dominate video game sales at Amazon, with the bundled Nintendo Wii version and the standalone PS2 port proving to be the most popular choices. The famously delayed Manhunt 2 will also make its debut this week, after undergoing a number of required changes regarding its content. Other long-awaited releases include the PlayStation 3 version of Stranglehold and an online play-enabled port of Virtua Fighter 5 for the Xbox 360. These titles -- along with popular licensed names like The Simpsons Game and releases for Ben 10, High School Musical, and The Bee Movie -- ensure that this week should represent a large financial investment both for gamers and for parents shopping in anticipation of the upcoming holidays. Games Released in Europe:

Europe boasts a daunting release list for this week. The chart features a large number of games debuting alongside their U.S. counterparts, along with a selection of anticipated titles already in the hands of gamers in other territories. Among these dozens of releases, Hellgate: London currently leads in weekly presales at Amazon.co.uk, while the Wii port of The Simpsons Game is attracting its share of attention as well. UK gamers will also find a number of region-exclusive releases on store shelves this week. Titles like Dirty Dancing: The Video Game and the Xbox 360 port of Bladestorm: The Hundred Years' War will see European release prior to debuting in North America, while Offroad Extreme, Mr. Bean, and Clever Kids: Dino Land and Pony World are not scheduled for multi-region release at all. Games Released in Japan:

What Japan's list for this week lacks in quantity it more than makes up in promised quality. Amazon.co.jp's users currently divide the majority of their preorders between Ace Combat 6: Kaihou e no Senka and Super Mario Galaxy, with Ace Combat 6 barely edging out Mario in popularity at this point in time. This is likely to change in future weeks, however, as both Japanese gamers and importers appear eager to snap up Galaxy in droves, as the title will not arrive in North America until the 12th. Judging by Amazon's presales data, gamers in Japan will also likely find interest in Super Robot Taisen: Scramble Commander the 2nd, the latest PS2 entry in the long-running strategy RPG series.