Fans will enjoy leading them through everything from a massive RPG world based on the Buu Saga to breathtaking battles against some of the most powerful enemies in the DBZ universe.
Affirmed as one of the dominant video game franchises in recent years, Dragon Ball Z® underscores Atari's ability to identify cultural trends and opportunities, and maximize their potential in the interactive entertainment space. According to recent data from the NPD Group, as of March 2004, the Dragon Ball Z® franchise has combined to sell more than 5.7 million units in the U.S. alone.
"From the outset, our goal was to work closely with FUNimation to faithfully recreate the Dragon Ball Z® experience for video game consumers," said Nancy MacIntyre, vice president of Marketing for Atari's Beverly studio. "By adhering to that very high standard, we are prepared to deliver a new array of different and exciting DBZ® games."
"Atari has taken Dragon Ball Z to new heights in the interactive industry. The majority of our fan base craves video games that satisfy not only their DBZ fandom, but also their need for a great game," said Gen Fukunaga, president of FUNimation Productions, Ltd. "Atari has the experience and know-how to successfully combine both of these elements and deliver great DBZ games to the market place."
Dragon Ball Z®: Budokai(tm) 3 is the third in the successful PlayStation®2 series developed by DIMPS and whose new features promise to make it the best-ever DBZ® fighting experience on next-generation consoles. Dragon Ball Z®: Buu's Fury(tm) and Dragon Ball Z®: Supersonic Warriors(tm) for Game Boy® Advance, developed by WebFoot and Banpresto, respectively, offer the 20 million Game Boy® Advance and Game Boy® Advance SP owners challenging DBZ® action wherever they go.
Dragon Ball Z® has aired on Cartoon Network's Toonami Block for 61 consecutive months and is the top rated cable program among tweens 9-14 and males 12-24. Web sites for the Dragon Ball franchise receive more than 8 million hits per day and the term "Dragonball" was a Top 10 search term on the Lycos 50 Daily Report for a total of 200 consecutive weeks. With more than $3 billion in related merchandising worldwide and over 15 million home videos sold, the Dragon Ball brand has created a new standard for animated action series.
For additional information on Dragon Ball Z®, visit www.dragonballz.com.