The ''

Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 individual chapters colle ...

'' video games are based on the

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series of the same name created by

Akira Toriyama is a Japanese manga artist and character designer. He first achieved mainstream recognition for his highly successful manga series ''Dr. Slump'', before going on to create ''Dragon Ball'' (his best-known work) and acting as a character design ...

. From 1990, these games were released under the ''

Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 '' Dragon Ball'' anime series and adapts the latter 325 chapters of the original ...

'' banner, after the second

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television series. The games are of various genres, most prominently

fighting games A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as blocking, grappling, counter-attacking, and chaining attac ...

role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing a ...

games, and

platform games Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

, all featuring a varying roster of characters as depicted in the original series. Toriyama himself personally designed some of the video game original characters, such as

Android 21 is a fictional character in the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise. Created as part of a collaborative process between Arc System Works and Akira Toriyama, Android 21 makes her debut appearance in the 2018 fighting game ''Dragon Ball FighterZ'' pub ...

for ''

Dragon Ball FighterZ ''Dragon Ball FighterZ'' (pronounced "fighters") is a 2.5D fighting game, developed by Arc System Works and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Based on the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise, it was released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Micr ...

'', Mira and Towa for ''

Dragon Ball Online (''DBO'') was a massive multiplayer online role-playing game being developed in Japan and South Korea by NTL, set in the ''Dragon Ball'' universe. ''Dragon Ball Online'' takes place on Earth, 216 years after the events of Goku's departure. A ...

'', and Bonyū for '' Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot''. ''Dragon Ball'' games have been primarily released in Japan since

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, with the majority of them being produced by

Bandai is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...

. Games from the

16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two mos ...

and

32-bit era The fifth-generation era (also known as the 32-bit era, the 64-bit era, or the 3D era) refers to computer and video games, video game consoles, and handheld gaming consoles dating from approximately October 4, 1993 to March 23, 2006. For home ...

s were localized and released in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, and other European countries due of the strong following the series already had in those countries. Up until 1994, with the exception of ''Dragon Ball: Shenlong no Nazo'' (which was released as ''Dragon Power'', and was graphically altered), no games were localized for the North American market. In 2000,

Infogrames Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA) is a French video game holding company headquartered in Paris. Its subsidiaries include Atari Interactive and Atari, Inc. It is the current owner of the Atari brand through Atari Interactive. Bec ...

acquired the license to produce and release ''Dragon Ball'' games for the North American and international market. With the release of their first two titles in the franchise, 2002's '' Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku'' and '' Dragon Ball Z: Budokai'', Infogrames more than doubled their sales. In January 2004,

Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French publisher Atari SA through a subsidiary named Atari Interactive. The original Atari, Inc. (1972–1992), Atari, Inc., ...

paid $10 million for the exclusive US rights until January 2010. In 2008, Atari announced that over 12.7 million video game units based on the series had been sold since May 2002. ''Dragon Ball'' was Atari's top-earning licensed property, earning $85 million in 2005 and accounting for over 49% of their annual revenue in 2008. However, with the expiration of the Atari deal in 2009,

Namco Bandai Games is a Japanese multinational video game publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and ...

assumed the North American and European distribution rights, starting with the 2009 releases of '' Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans'', '' Dragon Ball: Raging Blast'' and '' Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo''. By December 2014, over 40 million video games based on the franchise had been sold worldwide. The ''

Dragon Ball Xenoverse ''Dragon Ball Xenoverse'' is an action role-playing fighting game based on the ''Dragon Ball'' franchise developed by Dimps and published by Bandai Namco Games. It was released in February 2015 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox O ...

'' series sold a further 14million units between 2015 and 2021, ''

'' sold over 8million and '' Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot'' sold over units, bringing software sales to over million units sold. In addition, the

mobile game A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...

'' Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle'' has exceeded downloads and grossed over . The ''Dragon Ball'' video game series has generated over in total gross revenue, as of 2019. __TOC__

Consoles and PC games

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Handheld console games

Arcade games

Mobile games

Commercial reception

Japan retail

Notes

References

External links

Official Bandai Namco website
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Dragon Ball Video Games Dragon Ball (video game series) Dragon Ball (video game series)

Video Games Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

Toei Animation video game projects