Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo gold

Namco Bandai Games America’s Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo has fought its way out of development and has been certified as gold. This Wii exclusive will be available in North America on October 20, 2009.. The game promises to let players and fans of the popular anime series relive the vibrant and exciting world that spawned the epic multi-generational Dragon Ball odyssey.”

In Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo, players assume the role of Goku complete with tail as he explores the world, befriends lifelong companions, and races against the diabolical Red Ribbon Army in search of the seven mystical Dragon Balls which, when collected, grant a single ultimate wish. Fans of the series will get to relive the crucial moments in Goku’s adventures which take place between the Red Ribbon encounters to the pivotal King Piccolo conflict.

Players will use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to help Goku pull off intricate combos, fly across the screen to connect jump kick attacks, and execute his signature Kamehameha ultimate attack against enemies. In addition to the action in the Adventure Mode, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo also incorporates a Tournament Mode which will allow players to take their favorite Dragon Ball heroes and villains into the ring to duke it out. The game also promises in-game collectables and a host of unlockable characters and modes

Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo for Wii is rated “E10+” by the ESRB and has a MSRP of $29.99. For more information on Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo, visit www.dragonball.namco.com.

Namco Bandai Games locks down Dragon Ball rights

Namco Bandai Games America has secured exclusive North American rights to publish future “official” video games for the longstanding classic anime and manga series, Dragon Ball across all major consoles and hand held platforms. The agreement will run for five years beginning in January 2010 and supersedes the existing rights granted to publish titles on the Nintendo DS, Wii, PS3, PSP, and Xbox 360.

“We are very excited to have signed this long term agreement with Toei Animation Co., Ltd and FUNimation Entertainment, which grants NAMCO BANDAI Games North American multi-platform rights to the testosterone driven action packed world of Dragon Ball, said Makoto Iwai, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Namco Bandai Games America. “This move reunites Namco Bandai Games with the Dragon Ball series in North America which will considerably increase our ability to develop titles that perfectly capture every nuance of what makes the Dragon Ball world exciting to the consumer.”

Namco Bandai Games America has secured the right to publish three titles in 2009: Dragon Ball: Raging Blast for the Xbox 360 and PS3, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo for Wii, and Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans for Nintendo DS.

DBZ Double Shot Hits Retail

Dragon Ball: Origins for Nintendo DS is in stores today, giving DBZ fans a portable fix of the popular fighting game franchise based on the equally popular animated series. Developed by NAMCO BANDAI Games, Dragon Ball: Origins takes players back to the original Dragon Ball series and around the world for an action-adventure game with stylus controls. The game also marks the first time Goku and Bulma are portrayed as kids, and offers a bunch of new gameplay elements including puzzle solving, fighting action, and mazes. Rated T for Teen, Dragon Ball: Origins is now available for the suggested price of $29.99.

Also hitting retail today is Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World for PS2. Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World brings several new features to the series including “Dragon Missions”, new battle types, and new cut scenes that enable fans to delve into the Dragon Ball Z universe. The new “Dragon Missions” will include scenes from the Dragon Ball Z series never before seen in a video game. Other features include over 40 characters, new fighting techniques and battle stages, and lots of other bells and whistles.
Look for both games in stores now.

DBZ: Burst Limit in 2008

Atari is finally bringing the Dragon Ball Z fighting game franchise to the high-definition generation of consoles. In a press release today the company laid out plans to bring Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit to both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 sometime in 2008. Both games are being developed by Namco Bandai Games.

While there’s a lot of marketing-speak going on in today’s announcement, the main focus of Burst Limit seems to be lightening-fast, open-world fighting featuring the cast from the popular anime series and buckets of graphical enhancements. The one bit of information revealed today that players may appreciate is online multiplayer, though details on that were not available at press time.

It will be interesting to see how the developers use the resources of both systems to enhance the franchise above and beyond what has been done on the Wii and the PlayStation 2 in giving the franchise a next-generation makeover.