Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero was already a major success, but one analyst has now revealed that it's the best-selling game in the series and one of the best-selling games in publisher Bandai Namco's history.
Speaking to GamesRadar+, Circana's executive director and games analyst Mat Piscatella said that he was "as surprised as anybody, not only for it to be the best-selling Dragon Ball game, but to be among the best-selling Bandai Namco games all time." Bandai Namco have, of course, "had some really big hits over the years," from multiple anime spin-offs to Elden Ring's juggernaut success, so Sparking Zero was just another jewel in its crown.
"I wasn't expecting this," Piscatella said. "It sure didn't hurt that it had that huge cast of characters and beloved IP allowing people to kind of dig into the history of that thing. Even though I've never personally watched it, I know people are very passionate about Dragon Ball... I'd agree with you that this thing has been one heck of a nice surprise in a year that's been kind of rough overall."
- Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero is the fastest-selling Dragon Ball console game in the series' 38-year history, with 5 million copies sold in 4 months
- First Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero DLC adds 11 characters from Akira Toriyama's final film, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, including 4 Gohans and 4 Piccolos
Bamco had announced that the arena fighter sold more than three million copies in its first day alone and Circana's charts has it as the second best-selling game of October 2024 in the US, behind only Call of Duty and ahead of the likes of Silent Hill 2, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and Metaphor: ReFantazio - so, a massive success by any metric. Overall, Piscatella more recently revealed that it only sits behind Elden Ring and Dark Souls 3 in Bandai Namco's catalogue.
But while Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero might have crept up on some people, the game clearly had millions of eyeballs pre-launch because it was bringing back parts of the beloved Budokai Tenkaichi series - which had Dragon Ball characters blasting it up in massive 3D landscapes - that hadn't received a new entry since 2007. Sparking Zero's marketing also leaned into some of the most nostalgic parts of the series as a whole, and generally built hype levels sky high.
Check out our Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero review to find out why it’s the “pinnacle of fan service.”
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