Confusion about Dragon Ball Manga sales figures

[damn]

Hello everyone.
I would like to ask some of the more knowledgeable among you: What is going on with DB's conflicting sales figures?
Like why is it all of a sudden 260m now? When in the 2000s there were multiple sources like Fuji TV, Toei, Shueisha, Oricon etc. confirming that DB had sold 350m volumes?
Even as recent as the Battle of Gods promotions cited the 350m number.
And this number most likely wasn't counting bootlegs like the +100m sold on China alone either.

This old website even reports that DB had already sold 260m volumes in Japan and Overseas combined by 2002.
https://jump-yh-land-to.translate.goog/ ... _tr_pto=sc
Original link here since I had to use Google Translate to get arround it erroring: http://jump.yh.land.to/template/dragonball.html

The sales couldn't have stayed the same since 2002. So something weird is going on here.

So what is going on?
I read some theories by fans on sites like 4chan that Shueisha and Toei are trying to downplay DB's sales to make One Piece seem more impressive.
I don't know if that's true or not but it's very strange nevertheless.

I would like to hear your thoughts.

[Vegard Aune]

So what is going on?
I read some theories by fans on sites like 4chan that Shueisha and Toei are trying to downplay DB's sales to make One Piece seem more impressive.
I don't know if that's true or not but it's very strange nevertheless.

Well one thing I can say is, this seems highly unlikely. One Piece is, when last I checked, still the undisputed king of manga in Japan regardless, (it does periodically get outsold by newer series for a year or two, like Attack on Titan in 2014 or Spy x Family in 2022, but that's more just... those series getting anime adaptations which gets a whole lot of extra eyes on them and making a bunch of people buy every available manga volume all at once, thus inflating the total series sales numbers drastically for a short while, whereas One Piece has been reliably a top seller with every single new volume for the last 20 years at least) and it doesn't need any other series to be pushed down to stay in that spot. Plus Shueisha surely sees both DB and OP as massive assets so there's no reason for them to not just... proudly promote both.

[Dragon Ball Ireland]

It was said at Tokyo Anime Fair 2009 the Dragon Ball manga sold 350 million copies worldwide.

Apparently there is also a TV interview with Masako Nozawa from sometime after 2013 where the host reiterates the 350 million number.

Considering both cases were a big deal the 260 million number is probably an underestimation. Dragon Ball should be well above that by now.

[MasenkoHA]

So what is going on?
I read some theories by fans on sites like 4chan that Shueisha and Toei are trying to downplay DB's sales to make One Piece seem more impressive.
I don't know if that's true or not but it's very strange nevertheless.

Well one thing I can say is, this seems highly unlikely. One Piece is, when last I checked, still the undisputed king of manga in Japan regardless, (it does periodically get outsold by newer series for a year or two, like Attack on Titan in 2014 or Spy x Family in 2022, but that's more just... those series getting anime adaptations which gets a whole lot of extra eyes on them and making a bunch of people buy every available manga volume all at once, thus inflating the total series sales numbers drastically for a short while, whereas One Piece has been reliably a top seller with every single new volume for the last 20 years at least) and it doesn't need any other series to be pushed down to stay in that spot. Plus Shueisha surely sees both DB and OP as massive assets so there's no reason for them to not just... proudly promote both.

One Piece has only sold more because it’s 3 times the length of Dragon Ball. Per volume Dragon Ball has sold more

[Saiya6Cit]

I agree with you, it is impossible that numbers did not go up since 2002.

Most likely they simply stopped tracking it... I don't think there is any reason or plan behind it, it would rather fall under the category of human error.