Daizenshuu EX - Updates from October 2007

31 October 2007

Podcast Episode #0100 + MAJOR BREAKING NEWS!
VegettoEX @ 5:46 pm EDT -- Episode #0100 of the podcast is (finally) available for download! I'd apologize for the wait, but when you see what's in store for you, I think you'll understand ^_~. We start out by bribing everyone with last week's news and the start-up of a new contest...!

That's right... we're giving away daizenshuu numero two, "STORY GUIDE"... and you can't wait to get it! You also get to choose a sub-prize, so check it all out and listen in for more details. The episode is rounded off with a nearly three-hour clip-show extravaganza, showcasing all sorts of memories from the last one hundred episodes. I'd say more, but you just need to listen in... we think you'll enjoy it. Definitely check it out.

In addition to all that, there's some huge video game news developing. First off, thanks to Sebastian for the heads-up on this one. Check out the following info from over on Gamespot:

It's been a rough month for Atari, starting with the dismissal of five members of its board of directors, courtesy of parent company Infogrames. While the outgoing directors had been replaced within a week, a group of frustrated Atari shareholders accused Infogrames of intentionally undermining the company's stock price in preparation to buy out the remaining shareholders.

The month is ending with even more corporate drama for the company, as an Atari Securities and Exchange Commission filing last week revealed that it is currently embroiled in a dispute over its Dragon Ball Z license.

According to Atari, the company has the rights to release games based on the series thanks to a pair of agreements with US anime firm FUNimation Productions. However, the publisher received a notice from FUNimation earlier this month accusing it of breaching those agreements.

As a result, FUNimation now claims that Atari's license to make Dragon Ball Z games has been terminated. Atari doesn't agree and has been distributing the games as usual. The two companies are now in talks to reach a temporary agreement that would buy them time to resolve their issues regarding the original license.

Dragon Ball Z has been Atari's most prolific licensed property in recent years, bringing in $85 million in the company's fiscal 2005, according to its latest annual report. The remainder of Atari's current catalog is headlined by properties like Dungeons & Dragons, Backyard Sports, and Godzilla. Should Atari lose the Dragon Ball Z license, it would join Driver, Stuntman, Transformers, and a handful of Hasbro games like Monopoly as high-profile losses to the publisher's stable of properties.

Holy f-in' Moses... we definitely weren't too far off by covering all this Atari news as-of-late. We'll definitely keep you up-to-speed on developments as they come in. All I can say right now is... damn... I'm glad I imported Sparking! METEOR...!

And then there's the big figure news from over on Anime News Network:

A proven leader in the action figure and youth electronics categories, Bandai America Incorporated today announced that it is returning to FUNimation Entertainment's Dragon Ball Z franchise as the North American master toy licensee. Fans of all ages are poised to see one of their favorite brands, considered one of the most successful anime properties from Japan, recapture the excitement since Bandai America's last Dragon Ball Z lineup in 2000.

“We are proud of this partnership with Bandai America and we look forward to unveiling the new line,” said Bob Brennan, director of licensing at FUNimation Entertainment. “We are confident that together with Bandai we can move into the new era of Dragon Ball Z.”

“Beginning Spring 2008, the Dragon Ball Z toy line will be reborn like no one has ever seen before,” said Colleen Sherfey, director of marketing, Bandai America. “With our expertise in action figures, existing fans will have their ravenous demand for exclusive Dragonball products satiated, while new kids will be drawn in by the unique play patterns and toys.”

So there you go. All sorts of information to chew on. Enjoy!

30 October 2007

Budokai Tenkaichi 3 On Its Way
VegettoEX @ 11:30 am EDT -- Atari's latest press release says everything you need to know, I suppose:

NEW YORK, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR), one of the world's most recognized brands and a third-party video game publisher, today announced that development is complete on Dragon Ball Z(R): Budokai Tenkaichi 3 for the Wii(TM) and PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system. The immensely popular Dragon Ball Z series is the gold standard of anime-based video games, with more than 25 different games and over 10 million units sold since May 2002. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 is the first Dragon Ball Z title to incorporate online play with the Wii, making it one of this holiday's must-have fighting titles.

Developed by Spike, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 is the ultimate Dragon Ball Z title, putting fans into the action like never before. Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 incorporates the most robust character lineup of any Dragon Ball Z game, a more in-depth story mode and enhanced graphics. Fans playing on the PlayStation2 system have the option to unlock several more hours of hidden game play with the Disc Fusion System, which requires either Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 1 or 2 to unlock never-before-seen battles. "We are constantly trying to push the envelope with Dragon Ball Z games to help keep our community excited," said Donny Clay, Producer, Atari, Inc. "Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 is the ultimate Dragon Ball Z experience for newcomers and fans alike. Whichever platform you choose, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi is an impressive fighting game for this holiday."

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 features a roster of over 150 playable characters, 30 enormous and varying 3D battle environments, fine-tuned fighting controls for the Wii and unlockable game play for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system. For more information on Dragon Ball Z video games, please visit http://www.atari.com/dragonballz.

If you haven't already, check out Episode #0099 of the podcast, where Meri and I gave our initial thoughts on the game (we've had Sparking! METEOR on the JP PS2 since it came out over there). Look for our final thoughts on the game in the near future, as well. The game's due out in the US on the PS2 on November 13th, and the Wii on December 3rd.

I actually stayed home from work rather sick today, so maybe you'll see that Episode 100... no guarantees... >.>

29 October 2007

I have no bribe, this time...
VegettoEX @ 11:46 pm EDT -- So the 100th episode isn't out, as you can obviously tell. Where is it? In bits and pieces. And crashing. Hrrm. So, I need to get some sleep since this isn't my day job (unfortunately), and I shall attack this with a fresh mind tomorrow. The episode could be out tomorrow, or it could be pushed back to next weekend... I dunno! Only time will tell.

Sorry!

28 October 2007

Here's a bribe since Episode 100 isn't ready yet...
VegettoEX @ 11:40 am EDT -- I'm pretty sure Episode 100 of the podcast isn't going to be ready today. I've sunk more time into this project than I have for several AMVs in the past. Yeah. But it's gonna be awesome...! I might as well come out and tell you that we're starting up another contest, and one of the prizes will indeed be something that has to do with the name of this site... hrmm... I dunno... thoughts...? ^_~

Anyway, to make up for the show not being ready quite yet (I'm shooting for tomorrow), here are a couple Japanese commercials! They never showed up on any of the Dragon Box releases, so you know you're getting some rare stuff. I captured them from my raw VHS copies of the last few DBGT episodes as they aired in Japan.

First up is an updated version of the classic eyedrops commercial, this time featuring the core trio from DBGT (Goku, Trunks, and Pan). It's always creepy mixing them in with live-action children.

Finally, here's a commercial for the masterpiece of PlayStation fighting games that is indeed DragonBall: Final Bout (which came to the US as DragonBall GT: Final Bout). Every time I talk about this commercial, I point out how hard it is to hide just how awful the game really is.

Hope you enjoy the clips! Look forward to Episode 100...!

24 October 2007

Sparking! METEOR Thingies + DBGT R2 DVD Singles
VegettoEX @ 7:31 am EDT -- Ah, leave it to the lovely forum members to pick up the slack when I'm away for a bit. Thanks, everyone!

First up, Futabatei Shimei let us know that the official Sparking! METEOR site has updated with three passwords. These allow you to to unlock three "versions" of characters (Goku, Vegeta, & Broli) equipped with some items that you otherwise would not be able to obtain in the game (including a throwback to the Budokai series with the "Breakthrough" capsule). Neat stuff. I'll have to check this out a little later.

In other news, ect5150 let us know that you can pre-order the first two volumes of DragonBall GT over on Amazon Japan! Neat! Their official DBGT site doesn't say anything (yet) about these yet, but they're definitely on their way out. I'm guessing we'll only see two per month (as opposed to three for DB & DBZ) due to the comparatively-short length of the series. They look like they're retailing for the same ¥3990 we're used to seeing.

22 October 2007

Podcast Episode #0099 + Lots of other news...
VegettoEX @ 6:47 am EDT -- Episode #0099 of the podcast is available for download! Sorry that it's available so late on Sunday... well... it's gotta be Sunday somewhere in the world, right now. I'll blame it on the fact that I was busy getting my picture taken with Chimchar at the Nintendo store in NYC, today. Yep. You heard me. This week, we dove into the first part of our Sparking! METEOR review, and actually went on with more conversation than we initially planned! Good times. With Julian around, we also took a trip into the past to discuss some websites of generations gone, and how fandom and fandom's capabilities to cope with each other have changed over time! Definitely check it out.

In addition to all that, it seems like some other news has plopped out this weekend while I've been gone. Let's try and catch up!

We initially heard some trickles of into out of FUNimation's Anime Weekend Atlanta panel (which we didn't go to, despite being there, since they tend to horribly bore us), but it would seem that a new RightStuf listing is confirming that FUNimation will be releasing a dual-feature disc containing both DBZ TV specials (Bardock & Trunks). Interesting stuff, right there. It's due out on 19 February 2008, and there is absolutely no word on whether or not it will be as phenomenally frame-by-frame remastered with the utmost respect and care for the integrity of the film as the rest of the TV series has thus far received.

There's also a 12 February 2008 re-listing for the boxset of DB movies 2, 3, & 4. Huh. I still see this boxset everywhere, so it's not like it's out-of-print or hard-to-find. No additional info on this one, yet, either.

There's also listings for volumes five and six of that Spanish release, coming out 19 February 2008. Eh.

If you're keeping up with those "remastered" season boxsets, you'll have to wait until 19 February 2008 for DBZ TV season four, according to its new listing.

Geeze, even with all the negative comments on the boxsets, with all the plugging we just gave them, I should get some sort of kick-back :P.

18 October 2007

Buy Your Very Own Custom Majin Buu Costume!
VegettoEX @ 6:35 pm EDT -- SonEric84 just posted this over on our forum, and it was too good to pass up on sharing with everyone, here on the main page. Ever want to cosplay as Majin Buu? Have a couple hundred dollars to spend?

Yeeep! There you go. Spend that money!

16 October 2007

IGN Budokai Tenkaichi 3 Blog & Videos Updates
VegettoEX @ 9:36 pm EDT -- While I'm busy playing through Sparking! METEOR (nyah-nyah!), those of you patiently waiting on Budokai Tenkaichi 3 can check out some new updates over on IGN. In addition to some new videos, Donny Clay has updated the blog with a bit of ramblings concerning attacks and techniques. All in all, it's nothing really special, except the little mess-up in here:

Moves like Android 15’s ultimate move where he pummels you seven ways to Sunday or when Piccolo twists his opponent’s wrist, tosses him and blasts him in mid-air for example.

We let it slide last year during a video interview when he didn't know what particular movie certain characters were from (honestly, unless you're fans like us, we can fully admit that it's difficult)... but this is a written blog, which gives you plenty of time to double-check your facts (no, #15 is not in the game), and perhaps write some complete sentences.

Ooooh, we kid because we love. Well... actually we have absolutely no idea who the guy is or what exactly he does over there at Atari, but I'm sure we'd love, regardless. Hugs 'n kisses.

You'll get some first impressions of the game in this weekend's upcoming podcast episode.

14 October 2007

Podcast Episode #0098
VegettoEX @ 3:42 pm EDT -- Episode #0098 of the podcast is available for download! Since we were at a convention last week, we had about two weeks worth of news to catch up on, including some pretty interesting dirt on video games, companies, movies, etc. We indeed get through volume nine of the so-called "Manga Review of Awesomeness"...! Like we state during the episode, the series is certainly at a transitional point, and I can't wait to continue onwards. October's releases, some e-mails, and a whole bunch of other stuff can be found within! Definitely check it out.

08 October 2007

Atari Board Members Removal
VegettoEX @ 9:56 pm EDT -- Whoa. This can't be a particularly good thing.

NEW YORK, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Atari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR), an interactive entertainment company, today announced that its majority stockholder, California U.S. Holdings, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infogrames Entertainment, S.A., removed James Ackerly, Ronald C. Bernard, Michael G. Corrigan, Denis Guyennot, and Ann E. Kronen from the Board of Directors of Atari via written stockholder consent effective as of October 5, 2007.

Pretty interesting stuff going on over there. How does this affect DBZ and its respective game production in North America? Probably not a whole Hell of a lot... yet. We'll definitely be keeping an eye on this. Hopefully you guys 'n gals picking up the American release of Sparking! METEOR (Budokai Tenkaichi 3) won't see any kinds of delays.

Picked up a ton of awesome stuff in New York today. Got myself some "animanga" (or the "TV Edition Anime Comics" if you want to be precise), and maybe even a little something with a "dai" and a "zen" and a "shuu" in the title that you should be putting some pennies together for... ^_~

07 October 2007

Podcast Episode #0097 — Live From MangaNEXT
VegettoEX @ 2:43 pm EDT -- Episode #0097 of the podcast is available for download! We did a day-trip up for MangaNEXT yesterday to hang out with friends and do a couple panels. In the early afternoon, we did a panel entitled DragonBall Manga: A History. This episode is basically that panel! Be sure to check the handout we gave to all attendees, and it will almost be like you were actually there...! Unless you were actually there, in which case it'll be a major case of deja vu. Regardless, we hope you enjoy the episode! Definitely check it out.

05 October 2007

Another "Developer Diary" @ IGN
VegettoEX @ 9:48 pm EDT -- I'm done for the day after this, I swear. IGN has updated with another "Developer Diary" video for Sparking! METEOR / Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (this is number four, if you're keeping count). Absolutely nothing of interest in here, with typical Japanese answers that don't really answer the questions asked :P. Ah, well.

Super Cheap DBZ Movie DVDs @ RightStuf
VegettoEX @ 5:47 pm EDT -- I wonder what's going on here...? Maybe clearing out some stock backlog because of some updated products coming in the future? Hrmmm...

Pretty interesting... the plot thickens...

See you tomorrow at MangaNEXT!

04 October 2007

Sparking! METEOR Opening Video Gallery
VegettoEX @ 8:31 pm EDT -- It's Sparking! METEOR day! Hurray! We think! :P To celebrate the release of the game, we've gone ahead and created a gallery over in the "Animation" section with 100+ images directly from the game's opening video!

It's in the same style as the last two Sparking! games (that really weird 3D look), so check it out. I realized that I never did one of these pages for Sparking! NEO, so look for that soon!

MangaNEXT (and Live Podcast Recording!) Reminders
VegettoEX @ 10:05 pm EDT -- Just wanted to remind everyone that we (and by "we" I mean myself and Meri, since Julian's kinda over in Japan) are heading up with some friends to MangaNEXT this Saturday (just Saturday... not the whole weekend). We're going to be doing two panels, so that alone is pretty awesome and you can't wait to check them out. The real cool deal is that our first panel, DragonBall Manga: A History, is actually something we're going to be recording live at the convention to put out as the next podcast episode! So if you're in the area, be sure to come check it out. Our panel schedule is there on the upper-right of this page.

We've got some other really awesome updates coming very soon. Hopefully I can put some work into one of them tonight, but no promises...! Gotta get convention stuff done :P.

02 October 2007

(American) Live-Action Movie Details
VegettoEX @ 10:05 pm EDT -- I don't know whether I should be thanking or murdering our forum member Snail for making this link known to me:

http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=news&id=12002

I have no further comments. Thank you, and goodnight.

Sparking! METEOR Random Stuffage
VegettoEX @ 7:26 am EDT -- The official website for Sparking! METEOR has updated, per its usual schedule, with some character art and bios for more of the playable characters. The main point of interest here is that we have confirmation that Eiji Takemoto (best known to me as Rock Howard) will be taking over the voice of Namu, for Kaneto Shiozawa (who played him in the TV series, but passed away in 2000).

Thanks, Rachel.

01 October 2007

Sparking! METEOR ("Budokai Tenkaichi 3") Images
VegettoEX @ 5:49 pm EDT -- IGN has updated with a whole slew of new images from the upcoming Sparking! METEOR (Budokai Tenkaichi 3). This image amuses me to no end:

Because, ya' know... it reminded me of how much I love this:

Game's out this Thursday in Japan...!