Release This: Gundam, Dragon Quest V Headline in 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. This week marks the North American premieres of NCAA Football 09 and Rock Band Track Pack Vol 1. Gamers in Europe anticipate the upcoming release of Guitar Hero: On Tour, meanwhile, as Japan's portable release lineup features a pair of heavy-hitters in Gundam Battle Universe and Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu no Hanayome. The following list covers all of the game software we know to be available -- across all platforms and regions -- for the week ending July 19th, 2008. Games Released in the United States:

EA Sports' NCAA Football 09 headlines this week's multiplatform lineup in the United States. All home consoles will receive a port of the anticipated college football sequel this week, while the Nintendo Wii in particular gets a specially tailored version aimed at casual audiences. Also premiering this week is Rock Band Track Pack Vol 1, an expansion that provides Wii and PlayStation 2 owners a compilation of music tracks previously released as downloadable content on other platforms. The Nintendo DS is expected to see the bulk of next week's release activity in North America, where the portable console will host a remade Final Fantasy IV, Konami's New International Track & Field, and Izuna 2: The Unemployed Ninja Returns. Games Released in Europe:

Another quiet release week awaits gamers in Europe, with only a small selection of titles premiering across all platforms. Guitar Hero: On Tour is likely to emerge as the week's top European debut, as the previously released U.S. version continues to chart among the DS's top sellers overseas. Games Released in Japan:

Few titles dare to compete with the combined strength of the PSP's Gundam Battle Universe and Square Enix's remade Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu no Hanayome in this week's Japanese release lineup. Both titles currently lead multiplatform presales at Amazon.co.jp by a wide margin, and both are expected to rank high in regional sales for many weeks to come. Nintendo DS owners can additionally expect to see Metal Slug 7, the first portable-exclusive sequel in SNK's arcade-born shooter franchise. On consoles, Japanese gamers will soon receive a standalone version of Konami's Metal Gear Online and a localized version of EA's Boom Blox, along with the adventure titles Poi! Hito Natsu no Keiken!? and Tears to Tiara: Kakan no Daichi.