Release This: The Orange Box Ships Worldwide; U.S. Receives Folklore, FF Tactics

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. Valve's The Orange Box makes its anticipated debut in all regions this week. FIFA Soccer 08, Folklore, and Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions will compete on U.S. store shelves in the meanwhile, as Project Gotham Racing 4 hits Japan and the UK. The following list covers all of the game software we know to be available -- across all platforms and regions -- for the week ending October 13th, 2007. Games Released in the United States:

The Half Life 2 compilation The Orange Box ranks as this week's most anticipated title among IGN's users, with both the Xbox 360 and PC ports gathering high amounts of interest and purchase intent. EA's FIFA Soccer 08 is set to provide healthy competition upon its release, however, as the title's overall cross-platform Mindshare eclipses The Orange Box's combined percentage by a slight amount. The week is also a major one for RPG releases, as Sony's Folklore and the anticipated remake Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions will soon find their way to store shelves. Folklore in particular has earned surprisingly high Mindshare this week, indicating that PS3 owners have long awaited a significant RPG release for the console. The War of the Lions also performs well in this week's results, and should find just as warm a reception in the U.S. as it has previously enjoyed in Japan and the UK. Games Released in Europe:

Europe's release list for this week largely mirrors last week's list for the United States. Multiplatform titles like Spider-Man: Friend or Foe and Crash of the Titans have recently seen U.S. release, as has Project Gotham Racing 4, which currently ranks high in preorder sales at Amazon.co.uk. The UK additionally boasts a number of region-exclusive Nintendo DS titles, including several pet care and breeding simulators that will see simultaneous release. Also exclusive to Europe for the time being is Guitar Hits for the PSP, along with the PC titles Rail Simulator, Star Assault, and Hollywood Pictures 2. Games Released in Japan:

It's a quiet week on the Japanese front, with a scant few adventure and educational titles arriving for the DS, while localizations of Project Gotham Racing 4, The Godfather, and Lair hit the Xbox 360 and PS3. Tecmo's DS Nishimura Kyotaro Suspense Shin Tantei Series: Kyoto Atami Zekkai no Kotou - Satsui no Wana currently ranks the highest in preorders among this week's offerings at Amazon.co.jp, followed closely by AQ Interactive's one-on-one 2D fighter Arcana Heart. [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.]