It's almost here. Oh yes, the Dragon Ball Z game that I personally have been waiting for is almost upon us. I'm talking about Super DBZ, the Dragon Ball Z game made for people who play fighting games. But while Super DBZ may be my most anticipated DBZ game, Atari knows that there are a lot of DBZ fans out there who aren't hardcore into fighting games. Those gamers will be getting Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 later this year.

Since before E3 2006, I've sat down in talked with Daisuke Uchiyama, the Chief Producer at Bandai Namco working on Super DBZ and the Budokai Tenkaichi 2. Dragon Ball Z was the first true anime that I watched, and since then the series has moved down on my favorites list, but it still ranks up there as a top anime for many fans. Due to my joy of anime, Uchiyama and I had some interesting chats about the future of DBZ games, working on the Nintendo Wii and several other DBZ-related gaming topics.

When I first chatted with Uchiyama, the primary question on my mind was why not next generation for Super DBZ. With the Xbox 360 going strong in the marketplace and the PlayStation 3 hitting this Fall, it seemed to make sense to put the game on next generation consoles. Uchiyama made it very clear that the fans of DBZ have been buying the games on the PlayStation 2 for several years, and while some of them may be getting an Xbox 360 or PS3, they will still have their PlayStation 2 console. Therefore it made more sense to go with current generation hardware for a new title like Super DBZ, which was made for fans who have grown up since the first Budokai was releases several years ago.

At this point, Uchiyama pointed out that Budokai Tenkaichi 2 would be coming to the Nintendo Wii. When we asked him about the transition from PS2 to Wii, Uchiyama was hesitant. The development team wants to a game that using the Wii-mote the way DBZ fans would like. However, in doing that, the team also has to make a game that will be fun to play. Not all of the gameplay mechanics necessary in a DBZ game would translate properly to the Wii-mote, so there is quite a bit of challenge in creating a solid DBZ game for the Nintendo Wii.

Our next question was dealing primarily with online play. After having played Dead or Alive, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and King of Fighters online, it would seem as though the DBZ fighters would be a perfect match. Uchiyama was very enthusiastic about online play and indicated that he would like to take DBZ fighters online. However, when he takes them online he doesn't want the same online modes that all of the other fighting games have. He would like to see some unique and fun online modes of play for future DBZ titles.

Speaking of future DBZ titles, when we asked Uchiyama about what was coming after Super DBZ and Tenkaichi 2, he basically confirmed that both games would be seeing sequels on next generation hardware. While nothing has been officially confirmed by Atari or Namco Bandai, what I got from Uchiyama's comments was that the development team has been looking at the new hardware and there's a very good chance the next set of DBZ titles will hit next gen consoles and feature online play.

For Super DBZ, Noritaka Funamizu (the former Street Fighter II producer at Capcom) and his development studio Crafts & Meister were brought in to add a significant amount of depth to the fighting game engine. Spike and Dimps have handled all previous DBZ fighting games for the PS2, so it was an interesting move to go with Crafts & Meister for Super DBZ. Since Namco and Bandai have now merged and Namco is well known for its fighting game series such as Tekken and Soul Calibur, we asked Uchiyama if it was possible for one of Namco's development teams to work on a future DBZ title. Uchiyama laughed and said that ideally that would be the scenario, but by the time the merger was finalized a new Tekken (Tekken 6) and Soul Calibur (Soul Calibur IV confirmed!) were already in the works, so it was not possible.

As our chat session with Uchiyama came to a close, he wanted to express his gratitude toward all of the DBZ fans who have purchased the Budokai titles in the past. DBZ has a very rich and deep fan base, so it's a pleasure that so many of them are pleased with the DBZ games of the current generation. Super DBZ will be releasing next month in the US, while Budokai Tenkaichi 2 will be releasing this Fall for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii. We'll have more on both titles in the very near future, but for now check out some exclusive screens and a new gameplay video.