Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle

Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle (Japanese: ドラゴンボールZ ドッカンバトル) is a free-to-play mobile game based on the Dragon Ball anime franchise. Developed by Akatsuki and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, it was released in Japan for Android on January 30, 2015 and for iOS on February 19, 2015.[1] Dokkan Battle was eventually released worldwide for iOS and Android on July 16, 2015.[2] The game has exceeded 350 million downloads worldwide, and has grossed over $3 billion in worldwide revenue.

Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle
Developer(s)Bandai Namco Entertainment
Publisher(s)Bandai Namco Entertainment
SeriesDragon Ball
Platform(s)Android
iOS
iPadOS
Release
  • JP: January 30, 2015
(Android)
  • JP: February 19, 2015
(iOS)
  • WW: July 16, 2015
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

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The game includes elements of board game, collectible card game, and puzzle genres. The main game is made up of levels that work similarly to board games, with spots dedicated to items, power-ups, traps, and fights. During the fights, the player's characters fight with an enemy via a puzzle system similar to match-3 games. Multiple orbs of different colors are placed between the player's character and the enemy, and the player can match different kinds of orbs to do attacks or use other abilities. After a certain amount of orb matches, the player unlocks "Dokkan Mode" for one of their characters, which requires them to tap 7 targets in a Z-shaped configuration as a ki orb passes over them. This allows that character to unleash a super attack that is much more powerful than the typical super attack. [3][4]

Development and release

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DualShockers had an interview with the game's producer Toshitaka Tachibana in July 2017, discussing the development and release of the game.[5]

Reception

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The game reached 15 million downloads within three months when it was released in Japan.[2] The game reached 100 million downloads worldwide in November 2016.[7] In April 2017, it topped the iPhone gross revenue chart in the United States, where it had close to 1.5 million downloads and grossed more than $26 million from nearly $18 average revenue per user.[8] By July 2017, the game had released in 50 countries, reaching number 1 on the App Store in 16 countries, reaching 200 million downloads worldwide.[7] By August 2018, the game had exceeded 250 million downloads worldwide.[9] As of August 2019, the game has exceeded 300 million downloads worldwide.[10] As of August 2021, the game has exceeded 350 million downloads worldwide.

In Japan, the game grossed at least ¥73.9 billion ($673 million) between 2017 and 2018, including ¥27.8 billion between January 2017 and October 3, 2017 (the year's fifth top-grossing mobile game),[11] and ¥46.1 billion in 2018 (again the year's fifth top-grossing mobile game).[12] In China, the game grossed ¥2.8 billion ($26 million) in 2017.[13] In the United States, the Google Play version grossed $6.18 million in November 2017, and was the month's seventh top-grossing Play Store app.[14] By July 2018, the game had amassed over $1 billion in worldwide revenue, including approximately $400 million from outside of Japan, and about $200 million in the United States.[15] By November 2019, the game had grossed over $2 billion worldwide.[16] As of August 2021, the game has grossed over $3 billion worldwide.[17]

Gacha scandal

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On November 14, 2017, a new character Kefla (ケフラ) was advertised to be added into the gacha (loot box) pool, but only a few players were able to draw her successfully. The majority failed to spot Kefla's presence in the list of possible loot drops. This led to suspicion that the developer had intentionally manipulated Kefla’s drop rate, so most players would pour a lot of money into the game in an attempt to draw her in vain, while maintaining the illusion that she was still in the drop pool. Soon after the rumor went public, the developer halted the gacha function and denied user access to the list of gacha drops temporarily, explaining that the issue was an unintentional mistake.[18] They then gave 300 Dragon Stones to all players on the Japanese servers.

References

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  1. ^ "Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle iOS/Android Game's English Video Streamed". Anime News Network. July 18, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment: DRAGON BALL Z DOKKAN BATTLE, a Popular Smartphone Game with More Than 15 Million Downloads in Japan, Launches Western Countries". Business Wire. July 17, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Broder, Brittney (July 27, 2015). "'Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle' Review – A Fairly Tame Game, but Good Fan Service". TouchArcade. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  4. ^ "Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle Review – Bash the Dragon". July 21, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  5. ^ "Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle Interview -- Producer Talks Mobile Game Development and the Future of the Series". DualShockers. July 28, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  6. ^ "Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle with over 200 Million Downloads Worldwide!". Business Wire. July 28, 2017.
  8. ^ "In-game events and $18 ARPU: How Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle conquered the US top grossing charts". Pocket Gamer. April 25, 2017.
  9. ^ "「ドラゴンボールZ ドッカンバトル」が全世界で2億5000万DLを突破。堂本 剛さん出演の記念ムービーも公開に". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). September 3, 2018.
  10. ^ "「ドラゴンボールZ ドッカンバトル」全世界3億DL突破の記念キャンペーンが開催". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). August 30, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  11. ^ "課金売上トップは『モンスト』、勢いを増す『FGO』―『ファミ通モバイルゲーム白書2018』12月12日発売". Famitsu (in Japanese). December 8, 2017.
  12. ^ "2018年アプリ収益予測@Game-i". Game-i (in Japanese). Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  13. ^ "중국진출 일본게임 VS 일본진출 중국게임 실적 분석". Mobile Index (in Korean). June 7, 2018.
  14. ^ "Infographic: The Top 10 Grossing Android Apps in the U.S." Statista. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  15. ^ "Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle Revenue Has Surpassed $1 Billion in Two Years". Sensor Tower. July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  16. ^ Forde, Matthew (November 28, 2019). "Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle does $2 billion in revenue". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  17. ^ Chapple, Craig (August 18, 2021). "Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle Surpasses $3 Billion Spent by Players Since Its 2015 Launch". Sensor Tower. Retrieved September 6, 2021.
  18. ^ "「ドラゴンボール ドッカンバトル」ガシャ表示の不具合から提供割合操作疑惑へと発展 → 公式は疑惑を否定". Net Lab. November 15, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
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