Release This!: The Lion, The Witch, And The Mario Kart DS

This week's worldwide game release list, specially compiled for Gamasutra, sees an online network debut, two new Sonic games, a new Pokémon RPG, two major movie tie-ins, a new Need for Speed and a new Tony Hawk, and that's just the start. Ladies and gentlemen, the holiday rush has begun. Games Released in the United States: Game Boy Advance: Care Bears: Care Quest, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Franklin the Turble, Garfield: The Search for Pooky, Hi Hi Puffy Ami Yumi, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Sonic Advance & Sonic Pinball, The Proud Family, Totally Spies, Ultimate Puzzle Games, Winx Club GameCube: Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, James Bond 007: From Russia with Love, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Pac-Man World 3, Shadow the Hedgehog, True Crime: New York City Nintendo DS: Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Mario Kart DS, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, SBK: Snowboard Kids, Sega Casino, Sonic Rush, Tony Hawk's American Sk8land PC: 80 Days: Around the World Adventure, Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2006, Chrome: SpecForce, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe, Cross Racing Championship, Earth 2160, Peter Jackson's King Kong, Shrek SuperSlam, Space Hack, Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse, UFO Aftershock PlayStation 2: Aeon Flux, American Chopper 2: Full Throttle, Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, College Hoops 2K6, Dragon Quest VIII, Dynasty Warriors 5 Xtreme Legends, Eye Toy: Operation Spy, Flow: Urban Dance Uprising, Ford vs Chevy, Magna Carta: Tears of Blood, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Neopets: The Darkest Faerie, Pac-Man World 3, Shadow the Hedgehog, Stuart Little 3 Big Photo Adventure, Time Crisis 3, True Crime 2: New York City, Wild Arms: Alter Code F, WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2006 PlayStation Portable: Crash Tag Team Racing, Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire, Infected, Kingdom of Paradise, Legend of Heroes, Need for Speed: Most Wanted 5-1-0 Xbox: Aeon Flux, American Chopper 2: Full Throttle, America's Army: Rise of a Soldier, Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, College Hoops 2K6, Dance Dance Revolution: Ultramix 3, Ford Vs. Chevy, Half-Life 2, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Pac-Man World 3, Peter Jackson's King Kong, Shadow the Hedgehog, True Crime: New York City Obviously, the big news here ahead of next week's launch of the Xbox 360 is Nintendo DS WiFi service, launching this week with two compatible titles: Mario Kart DS and Tony Hawk's American Sk8land. Not to be undersold, the current console front sees the release of Peter Jackson's King Kong, as designed by Jackson's hand-picked lead, Beyond Good & Evil designer Michel Ansel. There's also a new Sonic title for the DS, Sonic Rush, a Sonic spin-off, Shadow the Hedgehog, and a number of big-name sequels, including Pac-Man World 3, True Crime: New York City, Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Dragon Quest VIII for the PlayStation 2. Games Released in Europe: Game Boy Advance: Fantastic Four: Flame On, Mario Tennis Advance, Peter Jackson's King Kong, Shrek Superslam, Spongebob Squarepants: Lights, Camera, PANTS!, Tony Hawk's American Sk8land Gamecube: Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, James Bond 007: From Russia with Love, Mario Smash Football, Peter Jackson's King Kong, Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, Shadow the Hedgehog, Shrek Superslam, Spongebob Squarepants: Lights, Camera, PANTS! Nintendo DS: Shrek Superslam, Sonic Rush, Tony Hawk's American Sk8land, Touch Golf PC: Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Peter Jackson's King Kong, Shrek Superslam, Sims 2 Christmas Party Pack, Spongebob Squarepants: Lights, Camera, PANTS!, Star Wars Activity Centre PlayStation 2: Battlefield 2: Modern Combat,Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, Capcom Classic Collection, Dancing Stage Max, James Bond 007: From Russia with Love, Kaido Racer, LMA Manager 2006, Peter Jackson's King Kong, Ratchet Gladiator, Shadow the Hedgehog, Shrek Superslam, Sly 3: Honour Among Thieves, Soul Calibur III, Spongebob Squarepants: Lights, Camera, PANTS! PlayStation Portable: Gripshift, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Pursuit Force, WRC: World Rally Championship Xbox: Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, Capcom Classic Collection, Half-Life 2, James Bond 007: From Russia with Love, LMA Manager 2006, Peter Jackson's King Kong. Shadow the Hedgehog, Shrek Superslam, Spongebob Squarepants: Lights, Camera, PANTS! A few of America's big-name games make their debut in Europe this week, including Battlefield 2 and Call of Duty 2. It's also a big week for Nintendo, with Mario Tennis Advance, Mario Smash Football, and Pokémon XD making their debuts. And though they won't see Mario Kart DS until next week, DS gamers can still hop online with Tony Hawk's American Sk8land. Games Released in Japan (courtesy National Console Support): Game Boy Advance: Pokemon Fushigi na Dungeon: Aka no Kyuujoutai Nintendo DS: Pokemon Fushigi na Dungeon: Aka no Kyuujoutai, Snowboard Kids Party PlayStation 2: Blokus Club with Bumpy Trot, Beatmania IIDX 10th Style, Garouden Break Blow, J-League Winning Eleven 9: Asia Championship, Keroro Gunsou: MeroMero Battle Royale Z, Gundam Seed: Rengou vs. Z.A.F.T. This is a relatively quiet week in Japan, with perhaps the biggest news being the simultaneous DS and Game Boy Advance release of Pokémon Fushigi na Dungeon, aka Pokémon Mysterious Dungeon, the latest in Chunsoft's Mysterious Dungeon series. Beyond that, new Beatmania, Gundam Seed and Winning Eleven titles ensure that it's business as usual in the land of the rising sun.