“Sparking! METEOR”, this year’s fighting game for the franchise, will be known in the US as “Budokai Tenkaichi 3”. According to a post on the official Atari community forum, the US releases and European releases (PS2 & Wii) will all featuring the original Japanese cover art! This marks the first time that all three regions are getting the exact same art (minus the logo to compensate for name changes).
Neat stuff. Big thanks to Taku128 over on our forum for this one.
You may remember that a game called “Harukanaru Gokū Densetsu” came out in Japan on March 21st. It came out in the US on June 6th as “Harukanaru Densetsu”, dropping Goku’s name from the title. In an interesting twist, it looks like it is coming out over in Europe as “Goku Densetsu”…!
Unlike the US release, it features the original Japanese artwork in the background (not that the US release had bad cover art, though). Big thanks to SS Kakarot on our forum for this one.
Even if you do not live in the U.S., you can still celebrate the 4th of July this year by buying the next set of the Dragon Ball individual discs. As always, each of these discs contain six episodes, covering episodes 055 thru 072, and are set to be released on 04 July 2007. This set wraps up the Red Ribbon Army arc and moves us right into the 22nd Tenka’ichi Budōkai arc.
You can still order any of the released Z discs or pre-order any of these discs at Amazon Japan.
Episode #0082 of the podcast is available for download! This week, we went with a topic idea that our forum member Kula put forth… would we watch a new “proper” dub of DBZ? To what extent would we take that interest? And would it even be worth it to make one in the first place? We hit up a wide variety of issues, including voice casts, musical scores, translations, other re-dubs that have been done in the past (Akira, Macross, etc.). This may be one of those podcast episodes that has an appeal to non-DBZ fans. If you’re looking to recommend shows to fellow otaku, this one may be worth your while to check out… I think we hit enough different topics (while still basing it off of DBZ) that other fans may find some items of interest. Definitely check it out.
SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0082! VegettoEX, Meri, and Julian discuss the idea of a “proper” English dub of DBZ… would we even be interested? To what extent would we take that interest? How would something like that fit in with the rest of the domestic anime industry? Atari financial news, Top 5 Vegeta Kills, and your e-mails round out the episode.
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You have been hearing for some time from us that Atari is not doing so well in the financial world as of late. To add insult to injury, their latest press release states that they will be filing their 10-K (annual report) late, and have postponed their latest earnings conference call:
NEW YORK, June 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR), an interactive entertainment company, today announced that it would require an extension of time to file its Annual Report on Form 10-K, which was due to be filed today. The delay in filing is primarily due to a need to make a final determination regarding the amount of a goodwill impairment charge that will be reflected on its fourth quarter and year-end financial statements.
On April 30, 2007, the Company filed a Form 8-K in which it reported that it would be announcing that a non-cash charge for impairment of goodwill would be recorded during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 due to the significant decline in the Company’s market capitalization. However, it could not at that time make a reasonable estimate of the amount of the impairment.
Although the Company has not finalized its analysis, it now estimates that the charge will be equal to all or a substantial portion of the $54.1 million of goodwill that was on the Company’s books before the impairment charge.
Without taking account of the non-cash charge for impairment of goodwill, the Company would have a net loss approximating $17.2 million, or $1.28 per share, for the year ended March 31, 2007. The charge for the impairment of goodwill could increase the net loss by as much as $54.1 million, or $4.02 per share. Net revenues for the year ended March 31, 2007 were approximately $121.6 million.
The Company expects to file its Form 10-K in late June and will schedule an earnings call at that time.
Never a good thing.
Episode #0081 of the podcast is available for download! Just like I said! Here’s volume five of your so-called “Manga Review of Awesomeness”. We conclude out the 21st Tenka-ichi Budôkai, and move right on in to the Red Ribbon Army arc. There were definitely some interesting opinions on the transition into the new arc, so you’ll certainly want to listen in for that. Definitely check it out.
SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0081! VegettoEX, Meri, Julian, Jeff, and Joy (full house!) prance onwards into the lands of volume five for the “Manga Review of Awesomeness”. The 21st Tenka-ichi Budokai concludes, and the Red Ribbon Army arc begins. Is the series starting to slow down a bit? Some June releases and your e-mails round out the episode.
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Tanooki Kuribo is always watching stores across the Internet, and when he finds something of interest, you all get to be the first to know… right after me!
CDJapan happens to be offering the soundtrack to “Idainaru Doragon Bōru Densetsu” (perhaps better known as simply “DBZ Legends” for the PS1 & Saturn) for a mere ~$22. Get it while you can!
Just a friendly reminder that “Harukanaru Densetsu” for the Nintendo DS saw its American release today:
Atari Ships Dragon Ball Z(R) Harukanaru Densetsu
– Strategic Card Based Role Playing Game for Nintendo DS(TM) Ships to Retailers –NEW YORK, June 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR) one of the world’s most recognized brands and a third-party video game publisher, today announced that Dragon Ball Z(R) Harukanaru Densetsu for Nintendo DS(TM) has shipped to retailers across North America. The immensely popular Dragon Ball Z series is the gold standard of anime-based video games, with more than 26 different games and over 10 million units sold since May 2002. Dragon Ball Z Harukanaru Densetsu, the latest must-have DBZ(R) chapter, is rated E for Everyone and will be available for a suggested price of $29.95.
Developed by NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc., Dragon Ball Z Harukanaru Densetsu is an all new DBZ(R) experience unlike any other for the Nintendo DS. Harukanaru Densetsu combines strategic card based gameplay and role playing to deliver a game that is easy to understand but hard to master. Players’ progression is determined through their use of the cards to evolve characters, strengthen moves and create new moves.
“Dragon Ball Z is one of our most successful franchises, we are delighted to deliver an all new way to play with DBZ Harukanaru Densetsu,” said Emily Anadu, senior product manager, Atari, Inc. “We are especially excited to bring to fans of all ages a role playing game that combines simple card-based play mechanics in the much loved DBZ universe for the Nintendo DS.”
With eight types of actions, eight power levels and eight guard levels, the title allows for 512 possible combinations that will determine progression. The intensity of the DBZ special attacks will increase and multiple cards can be played together to power up attacks and enhance guard level for super combos. Dragon Ball Z Harukanaru Densetsu supports wireless battle for up to four players and includes a game sharing mode. For more information on Dragon Ball Z video games, please visit http://www.atari.com/dragonballz.
We missed the second release of the Dragon Ball TV Dragon Box individual discs! Man, just looking at these covers reminds me of the good times, when Lunch was around…! As usual, each of these discs contains six episodes, covering episodes 019 thru 036, and were released on 22 May 2007. We also now have the next set of individual disc covers that were released today. This set covers the fight at Muscle Tower and the Red Ribbon Army.
You can still order any of the released Z discs or pre-order any of these discs at Amazon Japan.
Episode #0080 of the podcast is available for download! We had to delay the so-called “Manga Review of Awesomeness (Vol. 5)” by a week due to… err… Mario Party 8 “special circumstances”. Fear not! You’ll hear it next week. In the meantime, we took a look this week at all the big news (which you can read about in the updates below), and then had a great discussion about (exclusively American?) fandom and its invented meaning and use of the Japanese word “ZENKAI” to refer to the power-up a Saiya-jin receives after recovering from near-death. Needless to say, this term appears nowhere in the original Japanese version (or reference materials, for that matter) in this type of context. We did a little explaining about the actual Japanese meanings of the word, and went from there. Definitely check it out.
SHOW DESCRIPTION:
Episode #0080! VegettoEX, Meri, and Julian discuss the various items of news from the previous week, ranging from the death of ZARD, to the fusion dance featured in the new Zune commercial, to video game news, and more. We also discussed the use of the word “ZENKAI” and fandom’s “invented meaning” for the word, which we’ve seen used incorrectly for years. June’s releases and your e-mails round out the episode.
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