Release This: Heavenly Sword Arrives, Europe Welcomes Tingle 2

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. Heavenly Sword ignites interest in the PlayStation 3 in North America this week, while an exclusive English translation of Freshly Picked: Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland gives UK gamers something to brag about. In Japan, Nintendo DS owners will soon enjoy two new entries in the Pokemon Fushigi no Dungeon series, and the Final Fantasy VII prequel Crisis Core is projected to singlehandedly create a spike in PSP hardware sales. The following list covers all of the game software we know to be available -- across all platforms and regions -- for the week ending September 15th, 2007. Games Released in the United States:

Two starring titles headline as this week's biggest Mindshare winners. Heavenly Sword arrives as one of the PlayStation 3's most anticipated titles to date, and EA's Skate aims to attract a large share of attention from the Tony Hawk crowd. Heavenly Sword in particular is already gathering large amounts of preorder attention at Amazon.com, and is expected to be one of the PlayStation 3's biggest sellers over the next several weeks leading up to the holiday season. Meanwhile, a close battle is being waged between EA Sports' NHL 08 and 2K Sports' NHL 2K8. According to IGN, both hockey sims are set to perform the best on the Xbox 360, while PlayStation 3 and PS2 sales will lag slightly behind. In all, EA's offering trumps NHL 2K8 in Mindshare on every available platform, and is likely to be the title of choice for hockey fans in the coming week. Games Released in Europe:

Europe prepares for one of its most noteworthy release weeks in recent memory, with localized versions of heavy-hitters like Super Paper Mario and Stranglehold being only the tip of the iceberg. More noteworthy news comes in the early release of the anticipated DS sequel Sonic Rush Adventure and in the UK's exclusive English translation of Freshly Picked: Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland. A side-story in Nintendo's popular The Legend of Zelda series, Rupeeland's European release is particularly noteworthy because of Nintendo of America's apparent lack of interest in releasing a U.S. version. While it seems unusual that a major Zelda release would make its way to Europe and not North America, Rupeeland's UK sales performance may open the door for a future release overseas. Games Released in Japan:

A glut of ports, text-based adventures, and edutainment releases assaults multiple consoles in Japan this week, though a small selection of standout titles ensures that this week will be worth remembering for fans of the Pokemon and Final Fantasy series. Originally announced prior to the release of the PSP, the Final Fantasy VII prequel Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII has remained one of the portable console's most anticipated releases in the years since, and currently ranks as the single most-preordered title across all platforms at Amazon.co.jp. Also seeing big Amazon preorder numbers is Fate/Tiger Colosseum, a 3D fighter based upon the popular PC and PS2 visual novel series Fate/stay night. On the Nintendo DS, a pair of releases in the Pokemon Fushigi no Dungeon (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon) series is gathering preorder strength as well. Of the two, Pokemon Fushigi no Dungeon: Toki no Tankentai appears to be the more popular preorder choice at Amazon.co.jp. Neither game has been announced for U.S. or European release, however, and both are likely to remain Japanese exclusives for the time being. [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.]