Release This: Tony Hawk, Katamari Sequels Anticipated in U.S.

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 will bring anticipated titles like Tony Hawk's Proving Ground and Beautiful Katamari to the United States, while The Orange Box and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass will make their European debut. Japan, meanwhile, sees a much quieter release schedule highlighted by DS Bungaku Zenshuu and Seaman 2. The following list covers all of the game software we know to be available -- across all platforms and regions -- for the week ending October 20th, 2007. Games Released in the United States:

Out of the more than 40 titles debuting in North America in the coming days, IGN's users exhibit the greatest anticipation and purchase intent for Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, which fills five slots in this week's Mindshare results. The Xbox 360 port of Proving Ground currently ranks as the most popular, though the PlayStation 3 version sees a healthy amount of interest as well. Proving Ground faces strong competition on the Xbox 360 from Beautiful Katamari, which achieves surprisingly high Mindshare results, considering the franchise's niche beginnings. The Nintendo Wii port of Rockstar Games presents Table Tennis should also see strong sales in its first week of release, as should the Game of the Year edition of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on the PlayStation 3. Games Released in Europe:

This week's European release lineup is highlighted by the arrival of Sega's Football Manager 2008 for the PC, which currently ranks as the single most-preordered title across all platforms at Amazon.co.uk. The Orange Box and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass should prove to be big sellers in the coming week as well. The week's list also features a selection of region-exclusive UK releases, the most prominent of which include a new Bollywood edition of SingStar and Buzz! The Hollywood Quiz. Games Released in Japan:

Beautiful Katamari Damacy earns the most preorders among this week's Japanese lineup at Amazon.co.jp, with the Nintendo-published DS Bungaku Zenshuu trailing close behind. Other anticipated releases for this week include the 2D fighter compilation World Heroes Gorgeous and Seaman 2, which serves as sequel to the Sega Dreamcast-born life simulation Seaman. Given the uncertainty of an overseas release for either title, both should prove to be popular among importers in the coming week. [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.]