In addition to the new Nintendo Wii game, Namco-Bandai will be bringing the latest Nintendo DS game to Europe, faithfully translated as (but dropping the “Kai” element), Attack of the Saiyans.

Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans coming exclusively to Nintendo DS™ this autumn 2009 in Europe and the PAL regions.

The game follows the Saiyan Saga of the original DBZ story starting from the World Tournament and Goku’s triumphant defeat of Piccolo. Players will take the role of Goku and travel the DBZ universe from jungle to Snow Mountain on their quest to victory.

Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans features a host of original features which will be sure to thrill fans, such as brand new gameplay, unique game modes, fun side quests and content never before seen in either the anime or manga series.

More details about this exciting addition to the DBZ range of video games will be announced soon. Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans is scheduled for launch across Europe and the PAL regions in autumn 2009.

We will hit you back later not only with the podcast episode for this week, but also a new contest! Stay tuned…!

Just as we have been expecting based on the current relationships between Namco-Bandai and Infogrames, Namco-Bandai will be releasing the new Wii game entirely on their own in Europe. Re-titled (from Tenka’ichi Dai-Bōken, or The World’s Greatest Adventure) to Revenge of King Piccolo, it should show up over in Europe some time in the fall of this year.

CERGY-PONTOISE, FRANCE – 25 May 2009 – NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe S.A.S. today announced the forthcoming launch of Dragon Ball®: Revenge of King Piccolo exclusively for Wii. Scheduled for European launch this autumn 2009, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo promises to thrill fans with the first ever appearance of the original Dragon Ball story on Wii in glorious 3D.

Heading back to the early days of the Dragon Ball story, players will control Kid Goku as he sets out on fantastic adventures with his friends. The title faithfully reproduces the uniqueness and special humour of the early Dragon Ball series, while adding an original blend of action and adventure to the mix. With the original Japanese music and voiceover included for maximum authenticity, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo offers fans a dazzling new experience with the characters and universe they know and love.

The visuals in Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo take the series to a new level by faithfully reproducing on-screen the original drawings of legendary Dragon Ball artist Akira Toriyama down to the finest pen strokes. Thanks to the high-quality, state-of-the-art graphics, fans will be able to immerse themselves in the Dragon Ball universe like never before.

Game modes include Story mode which follows Kid Goku from the Red Ribbon Saga to the King Piccolo Saga with the ability to replay previously completed stages, and the unlockable VS mode where players can take different unlocked characters into battle.

With in-game collectables, a host of unlockables, and more fun, fights and adventure than ever before all delivered in dazzling 3D, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo is the definitive Dragon Ball videogame experience coming to Wii this autumn 2009.

Our European buddy sangofe managed to get in touch with Plus Licens and inquired about the franchise’s situation over there. I clearly remember reading this on the podcast back in April, but it does not appear to have ever hit the home page:

Thank you for your e-mail concerning DragonBall. Plus Licens represents the rights holders for the DragonBall TV series, DragonBall GT and DragonBall Z, as well as the upcoming movie DragonBall: Evolution, in the Nordic region and Eastern Europe. This map shows the countries in question: (link #1)

For DragonBall we handle both the TV/DVD rights and the merchandising rights. That means that our potential customers are TV channels and DVD distributors who want to buy the right to show the TV series, but also different companies who want to use the DragonBall characters on their products or in their marketing. Such contracts can cover different territories; sometimes they only apply to a single country and sometimes multiple countries (e.g. the Nordic region). In practice this means that the salespeople at our offices in Stockholm, Warsaw, Moscow, Kiev, Budapest, Prague and Bucharest now regularly present DragonBall to potential local customers in different market segments. You can see a few examples of how we present DragonBall to potential customers in both marketing and TV/DVD here:
(link #2)
(link #3)

When it comes to the TV series we can negotiate the rights to both the original and the version adapted for children, it’s the customer who decides based on his wishes and needs. If we sign a deal with a TV channel or DVD distributor Plus Licens is however not involved in the translation/dubbing other than on an administrative level. That is handled by separate studios. The translation of names and proper nouns are often coordinated with the company that published the manga so that they remain consistent. All material – voices, translations, marketing material – is continually reviewed and approved by Toei, the rights holder.

We are happy to hear about your interest in DragonBall and know that there are many knowledgeable and dedicated anime fans in the Nordic region as well as Eastern Europe who will hopefully contribute to making the series as successful on TV and in merchandising as it already has become as a manga.

Dragon Ball Evolution, the American-made live action movie for the franchise released to theaters this past April, seems to be coming home 28 July 2009. Amazon’s listings for both the DVD and Blu-ray have this date, so it seems like a pretty safe call. Our buddy Marc over at The Fanboy Review also notes that the home release (or at least a particular version of a home release) may be getting the subtitle “Z-Edition” from Fox. After having watched a screener of this version, it was noted that no additional footage was contained within the normal stretch of the movie, though this does not include any extra material that will be included.

Our forum buddy (and Sparking! METEOR non-apologist connoisseur) Innagadadavida is certainly keeping up on the other new game coming our way for the PS3 and 360, Dragon Ball: Raging Blast. Namco-Bandai has already put up not just the official website for the game, but a slew of screen-shots in the opening video:

So there you have it. We will continue keeping you up-to-date on all the latest information with these games, including if Atari / Infogrames / Namco-Bandai announces anything about a domestic release.

Now that a couple days have passed, a little more information has slipped out about the two new games on the DB-horizon. First up is the new game for the Nintendo Wii, titled 天下一大冒険 (Tenka’ichi Dai-Bōken), or The World’s Greatest Adventure. Our Korean forum buddy DongHyun even has some new images over at their website which seem to come from the game’s official website that just opened:

From the looks of it, we will finally be getting a new console game for the first time in many years that is not a fighting game (though keep reading, since you know a fighting game is also on its way). Goku skiing? Gigantic fish jumping over bridges? Fighting Bear With Sword™? Sign us up.

In addition to the Nintendo Wii game just announced, gamekult.com spills the beans that the new Dragon Ball Z game mentioned in the Namco-Bandai fiscal report from the other day is a new game entitled Dragon Ball: Raging Blast. The current photos/scans from Xbox Evolved make it impossible to tell anything else, but it appears to be a new game more along the Sparking! style than Burst Limit (the word Sparking! on a prior page of the magazine also hints that way).

Big thanks to Innagadadavida for the heads up on this one. Once again, we will keep you updated with any and all forthcoming information and details.

We told you back in February that a new game based on the original Dragon Ball series was currently in development for the Nintendo Wii. French site wiiz.fr has the first info from an upcoming magazine feature with the first details and screens from the game.

We will keep you up-to-date with details and the full name of the game as our Japanese friends get a chance to check out the magazine.