Release This: U.S. Gets RE4, Zelda Hits 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. Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition and DiRT headline as this week's biggest U.S. releases, while Europe plays catch-up with the rest of the world with localizations of Mega Man ZX and Kirby Mouse Attack. Japan, meanwhile, will enjoy Zelda no Densetsu: Mugen no Sunadokei and Itadaki Street DS, along with several other exclusive titles. The following list covers all of the game software we know to be available -- across all platforms and regions -- for the week ending June 23rd, 2007. Games Released in the United States:

An enhanced Nintendo Wii port of the 2005 survival horror hit Resident Evil 4 ranks as this week's most anticipated title across all platforms in the United States, while arcade-style rally racer DiRT (released last week in Europe as Colin McRae: DiRT) is also generating high amounts of interest in the days prior to its release. Brothers in Arms DS manages a surprising third-place finish in this week's Mindshare results, though SimCity DS trails close behind at #4. Also interesting to note is that among gamers surveyed by IGN, most exhibit greater purchase intent for the Autobots version of the upcoming Nintendo DS Transformers game over the Decepticon version, while the PSP Transformers release falls somewhere in between both versions in popularity. Games Released in Europe:

Europe's upcoming Nintendo DS software lineup is the strongest of any platform this week, encompassing a number of titles that will appeal to a broad spectrum of gamers. Ranging from licensed fare (Bratz Ponyz, Shrek the Third) to localizations of popular titles that have met with success overseas (including Kirby Mouse Attack, previously released in the U.S. as Kirby Squeak Squad), there seems to be a lot to like on the Nintendo DS this week in the UK. European gamers will additionally receive a worldwide exclusive first look at the minigame compilation Hot PXL this week, nearly a full three months in advance of its planned American release date. The Xbox 360 racing sequel FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage also chooses the UK as its debut region this week, though no announcement of a U.S. release date has been made at this point. Games Released in Japan:

After leading in cross-platform preorder sales at Amazon.co.jp for the past several weeks, the much-anticipated The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker sequel Zelda no Densetsu: Mugen no Sunadokei (The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass) will find its way onto store shelves in Japan this week. The title is expected to lead Japanese Nintendo DS software sales for weeks to come, and will likely meet with similar success upon its as-of-yet unspecified U.S. release later this year. The PlayStation 3 RPG FolksSoul: Ushinawareta Denshou (to be released elsewhere in the world as Folklore) is also meeting with high amounts of preorder interest leading up to its debut, as is the Super Mario Bros. and Dragon Quest franchise crossover board game Itadaki Street DS. Importers should be advised that a U.S. release for Itadaki Street DS is unlikely, as no previous entry in the long-running and popular series has left Japanese shores. [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.]