A comprehensive press release from Atari details the company’s plans post-“Budokai 3” as we head toward 2005:

BEVERLY, Mass. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Nov. 4, 2004 — On the eve of the highly anticipated Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 launch for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, Atari, Inc. today announced the future of Atari published Dragon Ball games for the North American market. The four titles slated for release next year demonstrate Atari’s commitment to the Dragon Ball brand and to building video games that will excite the imaginations of millions of loyal Dragon Ball fans, anime lovers, and superhero aficionados.
“The Dragon Ball franchise is one of the deepest, most beloved properties in the entertainment industry today,” said Matt Collins, Director of Brand Marketing for Atari’s Beverly studio. “While Atari is proud to have been part of its interactive growth, we are even more excited to be part of its future. Because we listen carefully to fans and work closely with our development partners, we are optimistic that these future titles will be as successful and popular as the current slate of hit releases.”

The 2005 Atari product calendar currently includes:

* Dragon Ball Z: Sagas (Spring 2005): Sagas is the first cross-platform Dragon Ball Z game to launch simultaneously, the first Dragon Ball Z action/adventure game for console, the first Dragon Ball Z game for Xbox video game system from Microsoft, and the first Dragon Ball game to offer cooperative story mode play. * Dragon Ball GT: Transformation (Summer 2005): – Developed by Webfoot, creators of the hugely successful Legacy of Goku series and Boo’s Fury, Transformation is the first all-GT action/adventure title on Game Boy Advance. * Atari will have two more games based on Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT that will launch later in 2005. One will create an innovative combination of action and fighting game elements on PlayStation 2, while the other will allow players to recreate the most dramatic moments of the second half of DBGT on Game Boy Advance.

“Atari has raised the bar for video games based on entertainment franchises. Their commitment to the Dragon Ball franchise has created some of the most authentic video game experiences in the industry,” said Gen Fukunaga, president of FUNimation Productions, Ltd. the master licensor for the Dragon Ball franchise in the United States. “Atari’s future releases for the Dragon Ball trilogy will raise this bar even higher and for the first time bring fans into fully immersive Dragon Ball environments.”

About Dragon Ball Z: Sagas

The game that all Dragon Ball Z fans have been asking for; an action-adventure title with RPG elements that spans the storylines from the Saiyan Saga through the Cell Games Saga. Players will journey from Earth to Namek and beyond in a 3-D action-adventure featuring melee, ranged attacks and destructible environments.

More information regarding Transformation and other forthcoming Dragon Ball Z games will be released after the Holiday 2004 season.

What we previously knew as “DBZ Sagas: Evolution” will indeed be a cross-platform (PS2, GameCube, Xbox) release, and will be an all-out action game. Stories hinted at include the early Saiyan arc through the Cell arc. The game is slated for a spring release; note that EBGames lists a street date of 15 March 2005.

The “DBGT: Transformation” title that fans have seen sitting around on such sites as GameFAQs appears to be an actual game (and not one of the GBA Video titles)! Seemingly the next entry in the “Legacy of Goku” action/RPG series on the GameBoy Advance, it will also be developed by Webfoot. The game is slated for a summer release; note that EBGames lists a street date of 14 June 2005.

In addition to this, Atari notes that there will be another two games released in 2005. One of them (to be released for the PS2), “will create an innovative combination of action and fighting game elements.” The second, a GameBoy Advance game, “will allow players to recreate the most dramatic moments of the second half of [DBGT]” (can you say “Legacy of Goku V”…?).

The upcoming Dragon Ball GT TV special release from FUNimation contains quite an interesting extra: “Director’s Choice – 10 Craziest Fighting Techniques” (who the director is for this feature, we do not know!). In itself, it is a mildly amusing look at some of the more “interesting” attacks in the series (such as the Para Para Brothers, Bacterian, Dabra’s spit, etc).

The real surprise was a sneak-peak at the DBZ seasons 1+2 redub and DBZ movie 12. Of course, (and we would like to stress) we have absolutely no idea if the actual finished dubs for these items were used in the creation of this feature, or if little bits were done solely for this feature… but regardless, it sure is interesting.

Attack #10 is the Saibaiman acid-spit, with John Burgmeier clearly in the role of Tenshinhan. Attack #9 is Gurd’s “Time Freeze”, with what seems to be a modified-Kaiô-sama voice from Sean Schemmel taking over for the soon-to-be-decapitated midget. Music appears to be standard Faulconer-style-fare in both.

The biggest surprise was the #1 attack, Janenba’s little trans-dimensional smacking, knocking Goku around Hell like it is nobody’s business. The movie is simply referred to as “upcoming DBZ movie 12” with no official title given. The music is not the original Japanese, but at least in this particular scene appears to be similar in style to the original version.

You will be able to check out the feature on the Dragon Ball GT TV Special disc (“A Hero’s Legacy”), which is technically due out on the 16th of this month (though some stores are putting it out way early; thanks to “godofchaos” in the chat for the tips).

Eight years ago in 1996, in the wee hours of syndication, “The Arrival of Raditz” (FUNimation’s English dub of the first Dragon Ball Z episode) aired, marking Dragon Ball Z‘s first official introduction in the US.

The “Budokai 3: Special Edition” is set to come out the same day as the regular version (with a bumped-up MSRP of $59.99). In addition to the game, you will get an exclusive chibi Broli toy and a behind-the-scenes bonus DVD… which includes a preview of a new game entitled “DBZ Sagas: Evolution”. It sounds like we are getting a new action game in 2005, so look for more information as we get it!

We received the following message from a source that wishes to remain anonymous:

I feel I should inform you that the game “DragonBall GT: Final Bout” was in fact not shipped yesterday. Our received shipments in my own store and all local stores did not contain the expected copies. I personally had a copy pre-ordered and mine never came in. We’re hoping to receive shipments by the end of the week or early next week, but New Release titles rarely come any days other than Tuesday or Wednesday. The message we received via e-mail is that the company themselves never shipped out the packages. Sorry.

Also, if this only applies to stores in my local area (PA, NJ, NY, etc.) then I apologize for providing you with false information, but to the best of my knowledge, the game was not shipped from Atari.

My copy has indeed not yet shipped, so there is likely something to this story — hope that is helpful for those of you who have not gotten your items shipped yet either and are looking for some type of explanation.

Hot on the heels of last year’s original theme song (“Kusuburu Heart ni Hi o Tsukero!!”) to “Dragon Ball Z 2” (“Budokai 2”), it seems that Hironobu Kageyama will be back again this year for the third game!

Translated below is the majority of the 14 June 2004 entry from “Kage-chan no Himitsu Nikki” (or “Kage-chan‘s Secret Diary” — Hironobu Kageyama’s very own blog on his official website):

6/14 (Monday)

Today was also a very exciting day. (^_^)v First, in Komuro-san’s own Logem [?] Studio, I worked on finishing up the vocal track from the DragonBall LA session. I re-sang it from the updated and corrected official lyrics, and we put in the chorus. The chorus is being done by the well-known YUKA-chan. And somehow, New York resident KÛKO-chan proved she could return to her home country and participate in a hurry!! (^_^)v Those two were able to sing a capella just by looking at the sheet music, so we finished in the blink of an eye. They had such a memorable tone. It reminded me of back when we were making Dragon Ball albums for the Monolith Project. Even nowadays, I sometimes drag out those CDs and listen to them; they’re still good. My own ones are as well, but among the ballads and such that KÛKO-chan has done, there are so many lovely songs that just pierce my heart. Our talk turned to that today, too, since the lyricist, Yuriko Mori-san, likes “Hitomi no Naka no Chikyû” [“An Earth Within Your Eyes”]… (^_^)v I like that one, too— and “Mizu-Iro Seijin” [“Sky-Blue Aliens”], and “Sora Meguru Bôken” [“Adventures All Around the Sky”], and… err, there’s so many that I can’t really count them all. And, though it’s a bit off-topic, I hear that when KÛKO-chan drives her car, she really steps on the gas when she hears my songs. (Laughs) Also, the conclusion we finally reached with everyone is that next year, we’re definitely going to have a DBZ Reunion live concert!! (^_^)v It’ll also be exactly 20 years since KÛKO-chan’s debut… really! After that, everyone said that of course, we’ll be inviting Shin[‘ichi] Ishihara-chan!! (Laughs) And then, once my song’s finished, next time we’ll move over to Yotsuya’s Sound Valley Studio and do the recording for “Nyahho~~ Sensei”!! What’s great about Nyahho~~ Sensei is that the tension in the acting is really incredible. (^_^)v As a joke, I said, “Sakura-chan, all of your fans might run away, because you’re too intense,” (laughs) but that might be the new situation. (^_^)v Being busy is a good thing. You know, it’s like the sense of art and skill in the songs I’ve attached myself to have become essential in the world. Every day is fun. So, then, I’ve got to try a lot harder!! (-_,-) Whew…

Summary?!

• Hironobu Kageyama is indeed performing the main vocals on the new opening theme for “Dragon Ball Z 3” (“Budokai 3”)
• YUKA and KUKO are performing back-up vocals on the same track
• There will be another DBZ reunion concert (will we be lucky enough for a tour?) to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Dragon Ball

Thanks to Joshua Thompson for the heads-up!