Report from TechTV:

"LOS ANGELES - Every third email pinging my inbox at TechTV is some question about "DragonBallz." When are "Dragonballz" games coming out? Who's making them? Where can I get one? So, when I saw a life size plushie of "DragonBallZ's" hero Goku pulling off some wicked kung-fu at Infograme's E3 booth, I had to stop and get the low down.

After a long, heated exchange with the game's reticent associate producer (at one point I threatened to come back with a GameCube controller and bash him in the head if he didn't tell what I wanted to know), what I ended up with was a few basic answers and a lot of unanswered questions.

Here's what I was able to figure out. Three "DragonBallz" games are coming out in "early 2002," for next-gen game systems. The associate producer, who I'll call MR. C from here out to protect his identity in case he told me anything he shouldn't have while I was cursing him for not giving more info. MR. C wouldn't say for which three next-gen systems but the trinity obviously lends one to believe that there will be a game for the Xbox, PlayStation2, and GameCube.

They showed video snipits from one game at the booth, and it looked like it was done on the PS2 or a PC, but it was only short clips of video, and I'd be hard pressed to say for sure. Mr. C also said there would be two handheld games available, but wouldn't say anything else about them. He wasn't saying much. Here's a quote from the "DragonBallz" website:

"Infogrames is currently in the pre-production phase of game development and as such, are focusing on putting the finishing touches on game design documents and acquiring necessary approvals. As soon as this process is completed, we can begin regularly updating and answering your questions about the game."

The video they were showing at the booth was lots of hype and little substance. That's not to say it wasn't cool, it's "DragonBallz", c'mon. But it didn't shed too much light on what the games would be about. Basically, there were about six clips from the game interspersed through about twenty clips from the animated series.

The clips showed Goku soaring through a vibrantly colored world on a giant rock, performing different attacks. It's going to be a third person action-adventure, and the Goku looked more realistic than on the cartoon series. The 3D backgrounds, the trees and house (all the clips took place outdoors), looked pretty cartoony. Mr. C said that there's going to be three versions of Goku in the game, a smaller, thinner one to start with. Then as he goes on adventures, he gains mass and bulks up.

Although I didn't actually see it in the gameplay they showed, Mr. C assured me that Goku does get to use his three special attacks, when pressed him harder he apologized for not being able to show them but got a faraway look in his eyes and said, "They look awesome, you've got to see them."

The last Mr. C told me was that Infogrames would be making some more specific announcements about the games in the next few weeks, they were waiting for everything to clear with the creators of "DragonBallz" before they made anything else public. Plus, from the looks of the video they were showing, it appears to be a little early in the "DragonBallz" game.

For all the latest "DragonBallz" info be sure to check out the official website from Funimation, and check back 'cause I feel as I made enough of a scene at the Infogrames booth trying to score interesting tidbits for our fans that I know they'll keep us posted, and we'll be sure to post it all."

"LOS ANGELES -- Day two of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) has ended. Well, officially it was day one, but having spent all day yesterday listening to Nintendo talk about how great the GameCube is going to be, and having spent all day today awash in a tumultuous sea of gamers blaring mediocre techno and hyper-large illustrations of videogame heroes and villains on the expo floor, it definitely feels like day two.

Chased by an evil maid

I'm back in my hotel room and just finished fending off another sneak attack from Rosalind, the nosey and, I'm pretty sure, evil maid. This time she was after my "Dragonballz" notes. She came from the balcony. I saw the grappling hook latch on to the railing but was too engrossed in turning the notes into an article to pay it any mind. As soon as I saw her "Goku"-inspired flaming hair though, I new what she was after, and she wasn't getting them without a fight. I had to work all my magic to pry what little information I got from the associate producer at the Infogames booth, and wasn't about to give her the scoop on one of the hottest licenses this side of "Pokemon." This fight would be to the death.

Luckily, in the end, it didn't come to that. It turned out she just wanted to change the sheets, but as soon as I saw her glancing at the notes, I sprung to the bed, snapped them up, and lit them on fire. They were too powerful a force for either of us.

If E3 has taught me one thing so far, it is this: "Dragonballz" is a powerful force (perhaps someday it will grow even more powerful than "Pokemon"), but it is also a dangerous force. It should be handled with care -- for the powers of good not evil. "