Dragon Ball Game Sales [Those phone games ... yikes]

[Chuquita]

It'll be a shame if it's really over for Dragon Ball games, think back guys, we've had a decade of Dragon Ball goodness... if Kai's goes off the air, and the games stop... what have we got to look forward to?

That'd be a little frightening when you really think about it. I've been a fan for 10 years. I've never known what a non-active DB fandom is like; there's always been something going on.

Going vaguely chronologically; Toonami DBZ, the GT dub and subs, the Kanzenban/DBoxes, the Ultimate Uncuts airing on CN, Cross Epoch, the live action debacle, the Jump special, Funi's DBoxes, Kai, the RB2 special and video-games sprinkled gratuitously throughout all of those "events" listed here.

Can I ask what it was like for DB in the mid-late 90's pre-Toonami? That was the last time DB news was slow, right?

[Hellspawn28]

Well I think the video games, and DVD's are the main thing that keep the fandom in the US still alive today. If it was not for that then DBZ today in the US would be view as those shows that where very popular but not anymore, like Digimon for example. I think a crossover game would be the best choice at the moment.

[Kingdom Heartless]

Well, I think the figures should continue to be released, and I don't think the games would ever go away for good.

I think they may take a few years of and come back better than ever (may be a little hopeful there).

[VegettoEX]

Can I ask what it was like for DB in the mid-late 90's pre-Toonami? That was the last time DB news was slow, right?

Lots of American fans were just getting into it at that time (via fansubs and eventually the US broadcast), so there was a lot of catching-up to do... which I guess completely counterbalanced the fact that the franchise was going on hiatus in Japan for a while.

We saw the tail-end of things in 1997 with the end of DBGT and the release of Final Bout, and then had plenty to go back and catch up on (like video games on prior systems), so it sustained itself for quite a while amidst the whole "learn everything that I can!" mentality.

What "slow period" existed almost didn't even really exist 'cuz we had season three (and lack of an original Japanese version) to bitch about.

Were Kai to end and games to take a break for a while, it would be the first time that North America simultaneously experienced a drought alongside the Japanese fanbase. We might be about a year behind due to the release of Kai stateside being staggered, but it would catch up quickly. Personally, I'm all for that break!

[SparkyPantsMcGee]

Can I ask what it was like for DB in the mid-late 90's pre-Toonami? That was the last time DB news was slow, right?

Lots of American fans were just getting into it at that time (via fansubs and eventually the US broadcast), so there was a lot of catching-up to do... which I guess completely counterbalanced the fact that the franchise was going on hiatus in Japan for a while.

We saw the tail-end of things in 1997 with the end of DBGT and the release of Final Bout, and then had plenty to go back and catch up on (like video games on prior systems), so it sustained itself for quite a while amidst the whole "learn everything that I can!" mentality.

What "slow period" existed almost didn't even really exist 'cuz we had season three (and lack of an original Japanese version) to bitch about.

Were Kai to end and games to take a break for a while, it would be the first time that North America simultaneously experienced a drought alongside the Japanese fanbase. We might be about a year behind due to the release of Kai stateside being staggered, but it would catch up quickly. Personally, I'm all for that break!

Wow, who would have thought the Dragonball's number one fan would want a break?

With Kai still going, and hell picking up some heat in the US among new fans, I'd imagine there will be one or two more years of video games.

[Rory]

With Kai still going, and hell picking up some heat in the US among new fans, I'd imagine there will be one or two more years of video games.

If Webfoot were to develop them, sure.

[SparkyPantsMcGee]

I'd really like to see another American team take a crack at a Dragonball game. Webfoot did a good job with the Legendary Warrior series, but I want a team that can do a really good console game.

[Rory]

Yeah, I want to see the American developers take a crack at a console game too.

[Hellspawn28]

Just give BioWare the rights to do a DBZ RPG or finaly give us a crossover game that fans have been dreaming for years. I think a DBZ RPG from BioWare should be pretty awesome since they have a great track record of games.

[Piccolo Daimaoh]

I'd really like to see another American team take a crack at a Dragonball game. Webfoot did a good job with the Legendary Warrior series, but I want a team that can do a really good console game.

You mean "Legendary Super Warriors"? That was done by Banpresto.

[Turtle Marked Stone]

Yeah, I want to see the American developers take a crack at a console game too.

I forget how much I really liked Saga's box art.

[SparkyPantsMcGee]

Yeah, I want to see the American developers take a crack at a console game too.

Saw that one coming...

I'd like a good team. And I'd like them to stick to the fighting genre. For whatever reason, action/adventure games and Dragonball don't mix.

[Vashkey]

Oops, double post.

[Vashkey]

Ten years in America, twenty years in Japan... I think people are done with Dragonball games.

Pokemon many other Nintendo Franchises like Mario say hi.

The difference is quality. The highest rated Dragon Ball game doesn't even have an average of 80% on gamerankings. (not counting Dragon Ball Z: Buyuu Retsuden which is based on only one review). Many of Nintendo franchises as well as other long lasting game franchises keep going because the games are actually well made.

You can argue that Madden and Call of Duty don't change much but they're still regarded by millions to be great games.

Another thing though is Dragon Ball is a manga and anime series before a videogame. Part of these games success is reliant on the manga and arguably the anime more so. Kai is ending/haitus in Japan and while I'm not too certain of how it's doing in the west, it clearly isn't as hot as DBZ was on Cartoon network.

Back to the quality though of the games, real problem there is despite the mixed reception of the games Namco Bandai has never put forth a real effort to change that. Maybe Dragon Ball could have shined as a videogame property but Namco botched it.

I have to admit though, Namco really did a fantastic job with the community front, which has become a very important part of gaming. Goku's Corner was great..... But I just looked it up and it looks like that site has been closed... I guess that just shows Namco doesn't believe Dragon Ball games are worth the investment anymore.

[Super Sayian Prime]

From Media Create's 2010 Top 1000:

130. [PS3] Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 (Bandai Namco) {2010.11.11} - 86.890 / 86.890
190. [PSP] Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team (Bandai Namco) {2010.09.30} - 55.069 / 55.069
195. [NDS] Dragon Ball: Origins 2 (Bandai Namco) {2010.02.11} - 53.565 / 53.565
225. [WII] Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 [Everyone's Recommendation Selection] (Bandai Namco) {2010.02.25} - 45.364 / 45.364
489. [PS3] Dragon Ball: Raging Blast (Bandai Namco) {2009.11.12} - 15.728 / 118.821
705. [WII] Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Picolo (Bandai Namco) {2009.07.23} - 9.243 / 43.112

Revenge of King Piccolo has yet to sell through its initial shipment....

But decent legs on Tenkaichi Tag Team!

[Jaruka]

Were Kai to end and games to take a break for a while, it would be the first time that North America simultaneously experienced a drought alongside the Japanese fanbase. We might be about a year behind due to the release of Kai stateside being staggered, but it would catch up quickly. Personally, I'm all for that break!

and you're sure it'd come back from that break?

[Chuquita]

Were Kai to end and games to take a break for a while, it would be the first time that North America simultaneously experienced a drought alongside the Japanese fanbase. We might be about a year behind due to the release of Kai stateside being staggered, but it would catch up quickly. Personally, I'm all for that break!

and you're sure it'd come back from that break?

I thought something was off about this quote when I read it; didn't sound like me and I don't italicize words in my posts. It's just an editing error. ^^;


More OT; I think it'd come back from a break. I mean, Rurouni Kenshin's about to get a brand new anime series, Sailor Moon's manga is going to be reissued in the U.S. later this year. For big franchises like DB I think things come in cycles; once enough time passes it'll loop back around.

I don't know how much time it'll take though.

[Ultimate_DB_Fan]

DBZ games will begin to sell well again, once these lazy developers go back to the Budokai engine. Why they discarded it is beyond me.

People don't wanna play DBZ games with messed-up cameras and cloned fighters, they wanna play a traditional one-on-one fighter with complexity and depth, which Burst Limit provided.

RB2 might've added some new maps and characters to the roster alongside that OVA, but that wasn't enough for me to buy it. So until they knock it out of the ballpark with their next installment, I'll stick with Burst Limit, thanks. I'm not lettin' new box-art and some half assed villain be enough to give those dudes my money.

[TheDevilsCorpse]

People don't wanna play DBZ games with messed-up cameras and cloned fighters, they wanna play a traditional one-on-one fighter with complexity and depth, which Burst Limit provided.

Shouldn't state an opinion as fact, cause I for one don't want a Budokai style fighter unless it only covers the original Dragon Ball series. I prefer the Sparking/Raging Blast style much more than the others, as it is a much better simulator for the Z series than a restricted 2D fighter. True, Spikes games need some fixes, but they are still much better than the Dimps games IMO.

[Hellspawn28]

As I mention many times before, DBZ should take a few year break and come back big similar what happen in 2002. As stated before people don't buy DBZ games anymore because they are sick of them, the same reason why the GH series died because people are tried of playing the same game over & over again. Same with movies like the Saw series since the series went down hill at the box office with Saw 5 back in 2008.