Atari Secure Dragon Ball Franchise News
Chris Leyton
12/01/2005
Atari extends its relationship with Funimation, with five Dragon Ball Z titles scheduled for 2005…
Atari today confirmed that it would continue its long-running relationship with FUNimation Productions Ltd, securing the popular Dragon Ball Z franchise exclusively for the next five years.
The agreement extends a five year relationship and covers the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South America; bizarrely making no reference to the European market, which with the exception of the United Kingdom is still a popular base for the anime series.
Videogames based on Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT are included within the license, which will see the franchises move over to the next-generation consoles and handhelds such as the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP.
Since 2002, the Dragon Ball franchise has netted over 7 million sales for Atari, whilst the series is set to grow in popularity throughout 2005 with the confirmation of four new titles throughout 2005, including Dragon Ball Z: Sagas (Spring 2005), the franchise's much-anticipated first action title (along with the first DBZ game for the Xbox) and confirmation of Dragon Ball GT: Transformation (Summer 2005), the first all-DBGT action/adventure title for the GBA.
"Since launching our first product together in 2002, Atari has worked closely with FUNimation to extend the Dragon Ball brand into the interactive market and with more than 7 million units sold to date, it's clear that the momentum of the Dragon Ball phenomenon shows no signs of abating," said Jim Caparro, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atari. "We have exciting plans in place to build on that momentum and usher in the next era of Dragon Ball, including products for the new wave of portable gaming devices and next-gen consoles."
"Atari connects with a brand and its fans, and as a result we have created the great video games in the Dragon Ball franchise," says Gen Fukunaga, President of FUNimation. "The Dragon Ball brand is on a roll and we look forward to even more success with Atari and the continued growth of the Dragon Ball franchise."
Weâll have more Dragon Ball Z action soon.
