Not since 1997, when Bandai brought American gamers the less than satisfactory Dragon Ball GT Final Bout to PlayStation, has Dragon Ball Z appeared in videogame form in North America, but it appears that Infogrames has acquired the license to publish the game on multiple systems in North America. Both games, Dragon Ball Z: Greatest Legends and Dragon Ball Z Ultimate Battle, never made their way in the US.
When contacted by phone today, Infogrames did not deny that the company is in the works with the series. "We're still in the planning process and we will make an announcement on Dragon Ball Z soon," said the Infogrames representative.
Strangely enough, the news was broken first by Club Z, the official can club for Dragon Ball Z. In its latest newsletter it reports that Infogrames/GT Interactive are working on the games for several systems, including PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and Game Boy Color. Infogrames could not explain how or why this anime club had acquired the information on Dragon Ball Z.
"We want to give you the inside information on a regular basis about what is going on at FUNimation with DragonBallZ," reads the newsletter. "We will keep you updated as things happen, starting right now with: Two words: Video Game. That's right, Infogrames/GT Interactive is beginning work on DBZ Video Games. The games will be for PlayStation 1 & 2 and Color Game Boy. Be prepared because the games are coming in 2001."
For those unaware of Dragon Ball Z's enormous popularity, each month of Lycos, the anime series is among the top five most inquired about topics on its site. Dragon Ball Z consistently beats out subjects like Britney Spears, the presidential election, George Bush and Al Gore. The result? Either all hell could break loose, or the foundations of modern society will soon crumble to the ravaged earth beneath. Either way, we'll keep you posted on all of the new developments concerning Dragon Ball Z.