Dragon Ball is a multimedia franchise debuting in the 1980s as a manga written by Akira Toriyama and published by Shueisha. There have been more than 40 titles with software sales of more than 70 million units as of 2022, making it one of the best-selling licensed game franchises.
The franchise is mainly split between fighting games and role-playing games. The fighting games have sold over 54 million units, making it one the best-selling fighting game franchises. Meanwhile, the role-playing games have sold over 28 million units, making it one of the best-selling RPG franchises.
History[]
The games were initially published by Banpresto and Bandai before they merged into Bandai Namco. In Japan, the first game release was Dragon Ball: Dragon Daihikyō in 1986. In Europe, the the first game release was Dragon Ball: Shenlong no Nazo (1986), released under the French title Dragon Ball: Le Secret du Dragon in 1990. In North America, after Shenlong no Nazo was released without the Dragon Ball license as Dragon Power in 1988, the series would not see a proper game release until Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout in 1997.
The overseas releases were licensed to Atari from 2002 until 2009, when Bandai Namco took over the worldwide license. Certain sub-series have shown great results internationally, like the Budokai series which has sold millions and the Xenoverse series which has surpassed 14 million sales worldwide.
Games[]
The Japanese sales are sourced from Media Create, Famitsu,[1] and Shueisha.[2] The overseas sales are sourced from Bandai Namco, Atari, NPD and Steam.
| Year | Title | Genre | Platform | Unit sales | Revenue (US$) |
Ref | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | Overseas | Worldwide | ||||||
| 1986 | Dragon Ball: Dragon Daihikyō | Shmup | SCV | Unknown | N/A | Unknown | ||
| Dragon Ball: Shenlong no Nazo (Dragon Power) | Action | Famicom | 1,250,000 | Unknown | 1,250,000+ | [3] | ||
| 1988 | Dragon Ball: Daimaō Fukkatsu | RPG | Famicom | 530,000 | N/A | 530,000 | [4] | |
| 1989 | Dragon Ball 3: Goku Den | RPG | Famicom | 760,000 | N/A | 760,000 | ||
| 1990 | Dragon Ball Z: Kyōshū! Saiyan | RPG | Famicom | 900,000 | N/A | 900,000 | ||
| 1991 | Dragon Ball Z II: Gekishin Frieza!! | RPG | Famicom | 790,000 | N/A | 790,000 | ||
| 1992 | Dragon Ball Z: Super Saiya Densetsu | RPG | SFC | 730,000 | N/A | 730,000 | ||
| Dragon Ball Z III: Ressen Jinzōningen | RPG | Famicom | 610,000 | N/A | 610,000 | |||
| Dragon Ball Z: Gekitō Tenkaichi Budokai | Fighting | Famicom | 330,000 | N/A | 330,000 | |||
| 1993 | Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden | Fighting | SFC | 1,450,000 | Unknown | 1,450,000+ | [3] | |
| Dragon Ball Z Gaiden: Saiyajin Zetsumetsu Keikaku | RPG | Famicom | 300,000 | N/A | 300,000 | [4] | ||
| Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden 2 | Fighting | SFC | 1,200,000 | Unknown | 1,200,000+ | [3] | ||
| 1994 | Dragon Ball Z: Super Butōden 3 | Fighting | SFC | 910,000 | Unknown | 910,000+ | [4] | |
| Dragon Ball Z: Idainaru Son Goku Densetsu | Fighting | PC Engine | 40,000 | N/A | 40,000 | |||
| Dragon Ball Z: Goku Hishōden | RPG | Game Boy | 240,000 | N/A | 240,000 | |||
| 1995 | Dragon Ball Z Super Goku-den: Totsugeki-hen | RPG | SFC | 420,000 | N/A | 420,000 | ||
| Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 | Fighting | PS1 | 320,000 | Unknown | 320,000+ | |||
| Dragon Ball Z: Goku Gekitōden | RPG | Game Boy | 90,000 | N/A | 90,000 | |||
| Dragon Ball Z Super Goku-den: Kakusei-hen | RPG | SFC | 130,000 | N/A | 130,000 | |||
| Dragon Ball Z: Shin Butōden | Fighting | Saturn | 110,000 | N/A | 110,000 | |||
| 1996 | Dragon Ball Z: Hyper Dimension | Fighting | SFC | 220,000 | Unknown | 220,000+ | ||
| Dragon Ball Z: Idainaru Dragon Ball Densetsu | Fighting | PS1 Saturn |
320,000 | Unknown | 320,000+ | |||
| 1997 | Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout | Fighting | PS1 | 245,000 | 19,564 (US) | 264,564+ | [4][5] | |
| 2002 | Dragon Ball Z: Legendary Super Warriors | Fighting | GBC | 68,049 | Unknown | 68,049+ | [3] | |
| Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku | RPG | GBA | N/A | 1,400,000 (US) |
1,400,000+ | [6] | ||
| Dragon Ball Z: Budokai | Fighting | PS2 | 570,000 | 2,040,000 (US) |
3,500,000 | [7][4][6] | ||
| GC | 78,000 | Unknown | 78,000+ | [4] | ||||
| 2003 | Dragon Ball | RPG | WSC | 9,000 | N/A | 9,000+ | [4] | |
| Dragon Ball Z: Taiketsu | Fighting | GBA | N/A | 608,816 (US) |
608,816+ | [8] | ||
| Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II | RPG | GBA | 67,000 | 621,650 (US) |
688,650+ | [4][8] | ||
| Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2 | Fighting | PS2 | 584,183 | 1,500,000 (US) |
2,084,183+ | [3][6] | ||
| GC | N/A | Unknown | Unknown | |||||
| 2004 | Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors | Fighting | GBA | 195,587 | Unknown | 195,587+ | [3] | |
| Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure | Action | GBA | 185,781 | Unknown | 185,781+ | |||
| Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 | Fighting | PS2 | 696,230 | 1,140,000 (US) |
1,836,230+ | [6][9][10] | ||
| 2005 | Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi / Sparking | Fighting | PS2 | 610,000 | 1,000,000+ | 1,610,000+ | [4][11] | |
| Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2 | Fighting | DS | 380,000 | Unknown | 380,000+ | [4] | ||
| 2006 | Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai | Fighting | PSP | 170,000 | 245,000 (EU) |
415,000+ | [12][4] | |
| Super Dragon Ball Z | Fighting | PS2 | 220,000 | 226,000 (EU) |
446,000+ | |||
| Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 / Sparking Neo | Fighting | PS2 | 650,000 | 1,175,000 (EU) |
1,990,969+ | [13][4][14] | ||
| Wii | 165,969 | [14][3] | ||||||
| 2007 | Dragon Ball Z: Harukanaru Densetsu | RPG | DS | 170,000 | Unknown | 170,000+ | [4] | |
| Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai 2 / Another Road | Fighting | PSP | 140,000 | Unknown | 140,000+ | |||
| Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 | Fighting | PS2 | 500,000 | Unknown | 3,970,000 | [15][4] | ||
| Wii | 186,445 | Unknown | [15][3] | |||||
| 2008 | Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit | Fighting | PS3 | 180,000 | Unknown | 205,051+ | [4] | |
| 360 | 25,051 | Unknown | [3] | |||||
| Dragon Ball: Origins | Action | DS | 240,000 | Unknown | 240,000+ | [4] | ||
| Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World | Fighting | PS2 | 200,000 | Unknown | 200,000+ | |||
| 2009 | Dragon Ball: Evolution | Fighting | PSP | 13,000 | Unknown | 13,000+ | [4] | |
| Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans | RPG | DS | 207,000 | Unknown | 207,000+ | |||
| Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo | Action | Wii | 80,000 | Unknown | 80,000+ | |||
| Dragon Ball: Raging Blast | Fighting | PS3 | 145,000 | Unknown | 700,000 | [16][4] | ||
| 360 | 10,816 | Unknown | [16][3] | |||||
| 2010 | Dragon Ball: Origins 2 | Action | DS | 67,000 | Unknown | 67,000+ | [4] | |
| Dragon Ball Z: Tenkaichi Tag Team | Fighting | PSP | 85,000 | Unknown | 85,000+ | |||
| Dragon Ball: Raging Blast 2 | Fighting | PS3 | 97,000 | Unknown | 580,000 | [17][4] | ||
| 360 | 5,688 | Unknown | [17][3] | |||||
| 2011 | Dragon Ball Kai: Ultimate Butōden | Fighting | DS | 108,000 | N/A | 108,000 | [4] | |
| Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi | Fighting | PS3 | 84,485 | Unknown | 700,000 | [18][3] | ||
| 360 | 1,394 | |||||||
| 2013 | Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission | Fighting | 3DS | 308,000 | N/A | 308,000 | [4] | |
| Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z | Fighting RPG |
PS3 | 136,000 | Unknown | 620,000 | [19][4] | ||
| PSV | 60,060 | |||||||
| 360 | Unknown | Unknown | [19] | |||||
| 2014 | Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission 2 | Fighting | 3DS | 336,918 | N/A | 336,918 | [20] | |
| 2015 | Dragon Ball: Xenoverse | Fighting RPG |
PS3 | 228,000 | Unknown | 5,000,000 | [21][4] | |
| PS4 | 67,474 | Unknown | [21][3] | |||||
| 360 XB1 |
Unknown | Unknown | [21] | |||||
| Steam | N/A | 1,000,000+ | [21][22] | |||||
| Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden | Fighting | 3DS | 180,000 | Unknown | 180,000+ | [4] | ||
| Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle | Fighting RPG |
Android iOS |
N/A | N/A | N/A | $3,700,000,000 | [23] | |
| 2016 | Dragon Ball Fusions | RPG | 3DS | 240,568 | Unknown | 240,568+ | [20] | |
| Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 | Fighting RPG |
PS4 | 267,599 | Unknown | 9,000,000 | [24][25] | ||
| XB1 | Unknown | Unknown | [24] | |||||
| Steam | N/A | 1,000,000+ | [24][26] | |||||
| Switch | 192,499 | 207,501+ | [27][25] | |||||
| 2017 | Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X | Fighting | 3DS | 250,984 | N/A | 250,984 | [28] | |
| 2018 | Dragon Ball FighterZ | Fighting | PS4 | 118,010 | Unknown | 10,000,000 | $600,000,000 | [29][n 1] |
| XB1 | Unknown | |||||||
| Switch | 110,163 | [37][25] | ||||||
| Steam | N/A | 2,903,000 | [29][38][37] | |||||
| Dragon Ball Legends | Fighting RPG |
Android iOS |
N/A | N/A | N/A | $930,000,000 | [39] | |
| 2019 | Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission | Strategy | Switch | 160,504 | Unknown | 260,504+ | [25] | |
| Steam | N/A | 100,000+ | [40] | |||||
| 2020 | Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot | Fighting RPG |
PS4 | 166,016 | Unknown | 6,000,000 | [41][25] | |
| XB1 | Unknown | Unknown | [41] | |||||
| Switch | 143,965 | Unknown | [41][3] | |||||
| PS5 | 1,740 | Unknown | [41] | |||||
| Steam | N/A | 1,000,000+ | [41][42] | |||||
| 2022 | Dragon Ball: The Breakers | Action | PS4 | 2,046 | Unknown | 109,275+ | [3] | |
| Switch | 7,229 | |||||||
| Steam | 100,000+ | [43] | ||||||
| Total | 22,068,453+ | 70,846,249+ | [15] | |||||
| Fighting games | Fighting | 12,833,061+ | 54,696,351+ | |||||
| Role-playing games | RPG | 6,991,183+ | 28,835,218+ | |||||
See also[]
- Bandai Namco
- Naruto
- One Piece
- Shonen Jump
- Tekken
Notes[]
References[]
- ↑ Search "Dragon Ball" https://sites.google.com/site/gamedatalibrary/game-search
- ↑ 30th ANNIVERSARY ドラゴンボール 超史集
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 Game Search. Game Data Library (Famitsu data). “Dragon Ball”
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 "Dragon Ball Video Game Data". Dragon Ball 30th Anniversary: Super History Book. Shueisha. 2016. p. 216. ISBN 978-4-08-792505-0.
- ↑ All Titles Released in 2002. The Onion Ring (NPD). Toy Retail Survey Tracking (TRST) (December 2002). Archived from the original on 2003-02-13.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 US Platinum Videogame Chart (Games sold over Million Copies since 1995). The Magic Box. Archived from the original on 2017-01-04.
- ↑ http://worthplaying.com/article/2003/6/25/news/10852/
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 https://www.neogaf.com/threads/current-generation-titles-500k-as-of-sep-2005-npd.67375
- ↑ Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3. Japan Game Sales Database.
- ↑ Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3 (PlayStation 2 the Best). Japan Game Sales Database.
- ↑ https://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-06-dragon-ball-z-tenkaichi-2-preshow-hands-on/1100-6148657/
- ↑ https://www.bandainamco.co.jp/files/ir/financialstatements/pdf/en_20070509_Report.pdf
- ↑ https://www.bandainamco.co.jp/files/ir/financialstatements/pdf/en_20070509_Report.pdf
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 http://www.bandainamco.co.jp/en/releases/images/3/44275.pdf
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Derek Padula (2 June 2015). Dragon Soul: 30 Years of Dragon Ball Fandom. p. 169. https://books.google.com/books?id=92nDCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT169.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 https://www.bandainamco.co.jp/files/ir/financialstatements/pdf/en_20100507_Report.pdf
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 https://www.bandainamco.co.jp/en/ir/library/pdf/en_20110510_1Result.pdf
- ↑ https://www.bandainamco.co.jp/files/2012E69CACE6B1BAE7AE97E8A39CE8B6B3E8B387E69699EFBC_2.pdf
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Financial Highlights for the Fiscal Year Ended March 2014. Bandai Namco (8 May 2014).
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Media Create Sales: CY 2018 (2018 Jan 01 - 2018 Dec 30) [new+used]. resetera.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 https://twitter.com/bk2128/status/925695824213848066
- ↑ https://steamspy.com/app/323470
- ↑ Tsuji, Hideyoki (February 2023). "8周年を迎えたドッカンバトル、高水準の収益をキープし続けてBNEの収益を牽引". Sensor Tower. https://sensortower.com/ja/blog/dokkan-battle-8th-anniversary.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 https://youtu.be/VVfIwh2XDQ8?t=20
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 25.4 Media Create Sales: CY 2020 (2019 Dec 30 - 2021 Jan 03) [new+used]. resetera.
- ↑ https://steamspy.com/app/454650
- ↑ https://twitter.com/6d6f636869/status/928188504571502592
- ↑ Media Create Sales: CY 2019 (2018 Dec 31 - 2019 Dec 29) [new+used]. resetera.
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 https://twitter.com/dragonballgames/status/1656207541863366656
- ↑ https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=34822
- ↑ http://fxtop.com/en/historical-exchange-rates.php?A=8208&C1=JPY&C2=USD&MA=1&DD1=01&MM1=03&YYYY1=2018&B=1&P=&I=1&DD2=31&MM2=03&YYYY2=2018
- ↑ https://www.steamprices.com/uk/app/678950/dragon-ball-fighterz
- ↑ http://fxtop.com/en/historical-exchange-rates.php?A=59.99&C1=EUR&C2=USD&MA=1&DD1=01&MM1=02&YYYY1=2018&B=1&P=&I=1&DD2=31&MM2=02&YYYY2=2018
- ↑ https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/store/p/dragon-ball-fighterz/bzrk5c951kk7
- ↑ http://fxtop.com/en/historical-exchange-rates.php?A=49.99&C1=GBP&C2=USD&MA=1&DD1=01&MM1=02&YYYY1=2018&B=1&P=&I=1&DD2=31&MM2=03&YYYY2=2018
- ↑ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/dragon-ball-fighterz/bzrk5c951kk7
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 group=n
- ↑ https://steamspy.com/app/678950
- ↑ Tsuji, Hideyoki (August 12, 2022). "ドラゴンボールZ ドッカンバトルの世界での総収益が35億ドルを突破、ドラゴンボール レジェンズと合わせてバンダイナムコエンターテインメントの2022年上半期モバイルゲーム総収益の45％を占める結果に". Sensor Tower. https://sensortower.com/ja/blog/dragonballz-dokkan-battle-over-3-billion-revenue.
- ↑ https://steamspy.com/app/798510
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 41.2 41.3 41.4 https://twitter.com/DbsHype/status/1635883396584083457
- ↑ https://steamspy.com/app/851850
- ↑ https://steamspy.com/app/1276760