Zenkai Battle Royale Official Japanese Launch VegettoEX @ 9:07 pm EST -- After a lengthy test release, Zenkai Battle Royale is finally making its way to arcade spots throughout Japan, starting in 392 locations across 46 regions. It debuts today with a marketing push across Twitter (following their account and tweeting #zenkai_wget) to gain access to Vegeta with his Saiyan arc scouter, while playing with Namco-Bandai's "Bana Passport" (a card to save statistics and progress) gives you access to Goku in his outfit from Planet Yardrat.
Playable characters in the game's launch are Goku, Kuririn, Vegeta, Freeza, Piccolo, Jinzôningen #16, Jinzôningen #18, Trunks, Cell, and Nappa.
The launch is not without its issues, though. The game's official website has a large posted notice indicating that players are receiving errors stating, "Your Bana Passport card or cell phone is being used by another game machine". The company is looking into the issue.
Thanks to Rachel for digging into some of the tidbits for us.
Kikuchi Receives 2nd Place Award from JASRAC VegettoEX @ 12:08 pm EST -- animeanime.jp (also adapted and translated by Anime News Network) has revealed that DragonBall background music composer Shunsuke Kikuchi has received the 2nd place "International Award" from the Japanese Society for Right of Authors, Composers, and Publishers ("JASRAC") for the amount of money generated overseas in the previous year thanks to his score for DragonBall Z. Kikuchi also received the 9th place award for his work on Doraemon.
With Kikuchi's original score for the series currently being retroactively inserted into DragonBall Kai (as well as being featured in the arcade game Zenkai Battle Royale and the Japanese releases of the Raging Blast video games, not to mention international releases and streams of the TV series), it is no surprise to see Kikuchi so high on the list. Congratulations!
FUNimation DragonBall Z Kai Part 5 Delay VegettoEX @ 11:52 am EST -- By way of Robert's Anime Corner, we have learned that FUNimation's "Part 5" of their home DVD and Blu-ray release of DragonBall Kai (releasted domestically as DragonBall Z Kai) has been delayed for a second time to 28 June 2011. This delay was in conjunction with a slew of other FUNimation products, unlike the first delay, which we are assuming was due to the music replacement affecting all on-going broadcasts and releases of the series.
23 May 2011
Podcast Episode #0259: Ye' Olden Fansub VHS Days VegettoEX @ 7:49 pm EST -- Thanks to a slow news week, we were able to dive into the past a little bit with something that is occasionally requested for a topic, but we have held off for fear of it being too distant and possibly irrelevant of a topic. With it being such a huge and important part of fandom's rise and enjoyment, though, a listener e-mail gave us the push we needed to dive into ye' olden fansub VHS days.
Our discussion begins with the need for a translated version of the show, all the way up through the digital age and any relevance it has to the franchise. Whether names like S. Baldric, E. Monsoon, Anime Labs, Ctenosaur, Project-X, NGN, or Pearl do or do not mean anything to you, this is the episode that explains it all! Download the show now, or head on over to the podcast page for more information or to subscribe.
16 May 2011
Podcast Episode #0258: News & E-mail Catch-Up VegettoEX @ 7:27 pm EST -- This week on our show, the guys dive into two weeks worth of news. A new video game is coming later this year (despite the franchise continuing down the financial hole for Namco-Bandai), the 98th episode of DragonBall Kai will make its way to the home release as a bonus inclusion (not to mention that whole music fiasco still in-progress)... the list goes on and on. E-mails about Journey to the West, the 23rd Tenka-ichi Budôkai, and inflation round out the episode. Download the show now, or head on over to the podcast page for more information or to subscribe.
11 May 2011
Game Project Press Release Confirms Spike Development VegettoEX @ 2:02 pm EST -- Namco-Bandai just sent out the official press release announcing Dragon Ball Game Project Age 2011, confirming its development by Spike, who has been responsible for the Sparking! (PS2, Wii) and Raging Blast (PS3, 360) games over the last half-decade.
THE UNSTOPPABLE SAGA LIVES ON WITH DRAGON BALL® GAME PROJECT! Dragon Ball Game Project AGE 2011 Scheduled for Release on Xbox 360 and PlayStation®3 System for Fall 2011
SANTA CLARA, Calif., (May 11, 2011) – Leading video game publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. delivered a KAMEHAMEHA today with the announcement of Dragon Ball® Game Project AGE 2011 (working title) for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Prepare to dive into the world of Dragon Ball Z with Earth-shaking combat, a massive character selection, faithful manga-style graphics as well as exciting new features sure to please Dragon Ball fans around the world.
The upcoming Dragon Ball Game Project is currently in development by Spike Co. Ltd., who are honing their considerable talents to create a new landmark game for the Dragon Ball Z franchise. The game features upgraded environmental and character graphics, with designs drawn from the original manga series. Destructible battle fields, including massive craters and ki energy blasts cutting across the sky deliver a more dynamic experience and immediate sense of urgency to the exhilarating fights. An enhanced story mode drops players into the rich Dragon Ball Z universe, filled with beloved characters and powerful enemies. An accessible battle system allows gamers of all ages will be able to hold their own in fast-paced battles, while still retaining tactical depth for hardcore fans.
The new Dragon Ball Game Project will be playable at this year's San Diego Comic-Con in July. For more information related to Dragon Ball Z, please visit: http://www.namcobandaigames.com.
Namco-Bandai Unveils Game Project Age 2011 VegettoEX @ 9:52 am EST -- While the rest of the Internet is busy talking about SoulCalibur V (which is admittedly pretty exciting), those of us following along with the DragonBall franchise have been waiting for additional tidbits on the so-called Game Project Age 2011, first revealed in Jump this past week.
The game was further unveiled by Namco-Bandai at their "Level Up" event in Dubai today. Details are still pretty scarce, but we at least have a teaser trailer!
What we do know is that "Game Project Age 2011" is indeed a working title and is subject to change. Additionally, FUNimation's logo is present at the end of this first trailer, and Namco-Bandai US is already making these assets available to their associates, so the game is essentially confirmed for North American distribution.
Check out a couple new screen shots below:
As for a little speculation on our part, the game appears to have a different HUD from Zenkai Battle Royale (currently only in Japanese arcades), and while it will be another 3D action/fighting game, it does appear to be slightly different from the Sparking! and Raging Blast games from the last half decade, particularly with hints of a grappling system at close range. The trailer does end with a pretty fantastic shot of Goku in front of an enormous Ôzaru, so the prior claims of being faithful and as realistic to the source material as possible certainly seem more in reach than ever before.
As always, we will continue to update as we get more information about the game!
10 May 2011
Namco-Bandai Fiscal 2011 Figures VegettoEX @ 9:35 am EST -- Namco-Bandai has posted a ¥1.8 billion (approximately $22.3 million) profit for the fiscal 2011 year.
In comparison to their other franchises, DragonBall did not perform well enough to warrant an inclusion on the top-performing list of franchises for the fiscal year, something hinted at in Q3 2011 when it did not show up for similar reasons. The franchise dropped from ¥15.8 billion in 2009 to ¥12.5 billion in 2010; with Ben 10 down at ¥12 billion for fiscal 2011 (the last one listed in the financial highlights), it is evident that the DragonBall franchise continued its drop even further.
As for individual video games, the company shipped 580,000 copies of DragonBall: Raging Blast 2 worldwide in fiscal 2011. This is a drop from the 700,000 copies of DragonBall: Raging Blast shipped worldwide in fiscal 2010. We know that approximately 87,000 of these were sold in Japan by the end of December, so this points to all markets contributing to the (downward spiral of) success the game has enjoyed.
This was the only DragonBall game in the company's top titles for the fiscal year, meaning that sales of DragonBall DS 2 (Origins 2) for the DS, TAG VS (Tenkaichi Tag Team) for the PSP, and Ultimate Butôden for the DS would be lower than approximately 400,000 copies shipped each — this should be fairly obvious for the latter, however, considering that the game was only released this past February and exclusively in Japan so far.
In terms of general toys and hobby merchandise (non-video games), the franchise dropped in net sales from ¥3.3 billion in fiscal 2010 to ¥2.7 billion this fiscal year. The forecast for fiscal 2012 is ¥2.5 billion, projecting a slight drop from this past year.
None of this comes as any real surprise to those keeping up with the franchise on this level. It will be interesting to keep an eye on fiscal 2012 with a complete lack of the series on Japanese TV again and whether the bottom line sticks it out or drops even further.
When the horrible earthquake and resulting tsunami hit Japan this past March, many TV shows were preempted with coverage. DragonBall Kai was no exception, and even though it was coming to an (early) end, its "final" episode was never aired — Toriko took its place the following week, and that was that.
Happinet has listed the episode as an "extra episode", and it will appear on the 15th individual DVD and fourth Blu-ray set of the "Jinzôningen & Cell arc" of DragonBall Kai due out on 02 August 2011.
This at least confirms the fate of the episode for the Japanese side of things — it remains to be seen how international dubs will incorporate the now "extra" episode into their production as a part of the regular series, or also as a bonus for a home release.
Viz Manga App DragonBall Manga Sale VegettoEX @ 7:54 pm EST -- From today until next Sunday, Viz is offering 20% off the price of volumes 1 through 16 of the DragonBall manga via their iOS manga app.
For those of you living in the future and who care about saving trees, this might be a good route to go to catch up on how the series actually began (both in time frame and in format).
Dragon Ball Game Project Age 2011 Website VegettoEX @ 3:29 pm EST -- Hot on the heels of its official announcement earlier this week, a new website for Dragon Ball Game Project Age 2011 has opened:
There is not a whole lot there just yet, but promises of at least a video clip and additional information should be enough to keep folks salivating for a little while longer.
08 May 2011
Dragon Ball Game Project Age 2011 (PS3/360) Announced VegettoEX @ 9:58 pm EST -- About a week ago, word began to leak around that a new video game would be announced in an upcoming issue of Weekly Shônen Jump in Japan, with a Tales blog naming it as "DragonBall Game Project Age 2011". This week, the game was officially unveiled in Jump:
Indeed titled Dragon Ball Game Project Age 2011 (at least temporarily), the new game is due out sometime later this year in the fall for both the PS3 and Xbox 360 from Namco-Bandai, and will be another 3D action/fighting game. No developer is currently listed, and details are rather sparse. As per the norm for Japanese announcements, the initial showcase says absolutely nothing of any real interest of substance:
(under "scoop")
Drawing extreme DB action with super visuals!!
So INTENSE, you'll be amazed! It's the advent of a new style, with thoroughly recreated DB battle scenes on a gorgeous screen!!
(center)
You'll feel like you're really there, as never before!!
The facial expressions are super realistic, and the field goes flying!! The intense production really heats up the game!!
(center-left)
Autumn 2011
The battle begins on PS3 and Xbox 360!
(under the title information)
The project to take DB games to the extreme is set in motion!! The warriors' battles enter a new dimension!!
(over bottom picture)
ACTION! DRAMA! SCALE! All these together create a super-class [of game]!!
[WHAT IS Dragon Ball Game Project AGE 2011?!]
It's the project to create a new DB game, the likes of which no one has ever seen. By pursuing the most accurate recreation of the characters ever, we aim to make it the most lifelike!! Super anticipation!!
It appears to be an entirely new game (rather than a home port of, say, Zenkai Battle Royale currently in Japanese arcades). To be honest, however, any of this verbiage could have been pulled from any game announcement ever for the franchise. We will simply have to wait and see if any of this talk about realism and character expressions chalks up to anything.
05 May 2011
Japanese DragonBall Kai DVD Music Replacement Info VegettoEX @ 4:39 pm EST -- When two of the individual DVD releases of DragonBall Kai were delayed in Japan last month, without ever being stated that it was due to the music fiasco (a result of "multiple suspicious musical pieces which may infringe on the rights of third parties" as announced by Toei a month prior to that), it was obvious to everyone nonetheless.
Volumes 7 and 8 of the "Jinzôningen & Cell arc" of DragonBall Kai (overall volumes 25 and 26 of the series) were delayed one month from 02 April 2011 to just this week on 03 May 2011, while the subsequent two volumes (also set for that same date in May) kept their release date, resulting in all four volumes being released this week.
It was confirmed for us that Shunsuke Kikuchi is indeed listed on the packaging for these four discs as the composer for the series, and the replacement score (itself music from the original version of DragonBall Z) is present on these four DVD volumes.
This leaves the home release of the series in quite an interesting situation.
This past February, the second Blu-ray set of the "Jinzôningen & Cell arc" was released in Japan, comprising episodes 66-76 of DragonBall Kai, with its original broadcast score composed by Kenji Yamamoto.
This week's individual DVD releases cover some of these episodes and beyond, with the four discs going from episode 73 to 84 of DragonBall Kai.
This means that DragonBall Kai episodes 77 through 95 will likely only ever be released in Japan with the replacement score of Shunsuke Kikuchi's original BGM, and never as they were originally seen on Fuji TV during their initial broadcast. It should be noted that episodes 96 and 97 originally aired after the debacle went down with the replacement score, so while those two perhaps had music selections from the Yamamoto score done and ready to go, they never aired that way.
This all strangely leaves a four-episode span of 73 to 76 that are available on Blu-ray with their original (Kenji Yamamoto) broadcast score, and on DVD with their replacement (Shunsuke Kikuchi) score.
When the third Blu-ray set of the "Jinzôningen & Cell arc" is released in Japan next month (after having been delayed itself), it will likely also contain the replacement score for episodes 88 through 90.
Most international releases are being hit by this musical shift, as well. From what fans continue to post around our community and elsewhere, depending on which edit of the English dub you are watching on television (Nicktoons versus TheCW4Kids) and how many times it has been repeated, you could end up with either musical score — it is likely that FUNimation's "Part Five" home release was delayed due to the music, as well. As it stands right now, the four existing releases (covering episodes 1 through 52) all contain the original Kenji Yamamoto broadcast score.
Some other foreign airings already in-progress have yet to make the musical shift, while others (such as the French subtitled version that began this week) have gone with the Kikuchi score directly from the first episode.
03 May 2011
Podcast Episode #0257: Manga Vol. 39 Review VegettoEX @ 7:35 pm EST -- This week on our show, we dive in to Volume 39 in our on-going "Manga Review of Awesomeness". Majin Buu has finally hatched, and the heroes and civilians throughout the world are already suffering at his hands. The wacky villain is a huge change-up from the last two story arcs, though. Has Toriyama returned to his comedic roots? Download the show now, or head on over to the podcast page for more information or to subscribe.
DragonBall Kai Extensive France Release Schedule VegettoEX @ 3:33 pm EST -- Big thanks to sangofe for not only collecting all the bits of various information, but rewriting it again for us so we could easily post about it!
Already making its way throughout the rest of the world, DragonBall Kai is finally hitting France, and in a big way. Just yesterday (02 May 2011) at 11 pm, the series began airing in France on TV channel Game One — in its original Japanese language, subtitled in French! Our buddy Puto let us know that it began right from the beginning with the replacement score (the music from the original DragonBall Z TV series by Shunsuke Kikuchi), rather than the original Japanese broadcast score by Kenji Yamamoto, which has since been removed and is in the process of being phased out of all international releases.
Next up will be an edited and French-dubbed version of the series to air on their Nickélodéon beginning on 29 May 2011. In addition to that, Game One will also be airing an uncut version of that new dub beginning later this year in September. Both dubs will be produced by Chinkel, and while some of the roles have been confirmed to be their original voice actors (Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, Vegeta), others are still up in the air.
A home release has not yet been announced, but with so much effort going into the production, we will likely hear about it very soon.
DragonBall Video Game Sales: 2010 Final Figures VegettoEX @ 2:10 pm EST -- Media Create has revealed the sales figures for Japan's top one thousand games in 2010, and DragonBall managed to scrape its way by yet again. Listed below (with game titles appropriately adapted from its NeoGAF origins) are the placement in the Top 1000, console, title, release date, 2010 sales, and lifetime sales (relevant for games released before January 2010):
We know that Raging Blast 2 did approximately 10,000 copies less in its first week than its predecessor, and the 2010 sales figures show that it is still about 15,000 copies behind where its predecessor was after the same amount of time (roughly two months, due to their early-November releases). As expected, the 360 version of Raging Blast 2 does not even rank on the Japanese list.
Despite DragonBall DS 2 being released seven months earlier, TAG VS for the PSP still managed to sell around the same number of copies by the end of the year. Of most interest may actually be the budget re-release of Sparking! METEOR on the Wii pushing just over 45,000 copies — a game from two and a half years prior to its re-release coming out to within the same ballpark for sales as new games is a fascinating situation.
So far, 2011 has only brought us Ultimate Butôden on the Nintendo DS, and exclusively in Japan, this past February. It sounds like we might have some news on the horizon regarding future games, but until there is a concrete source to point to, we will hold off on the speculation.
We do have a new podcast episode coming your way later this evening, so stay tuned for that!
