On Tuesday, reports surfaced that Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero sold over three million units on its first day, while another report suggests that Bandai Namco is cutting its workforce.
Bandai Namco announced Tuesday that its latest title, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, reached a major sales milestone on its first day of release. The fighting game reportedly sold 3 million units within 24 hours, with the counter starting only after the game was available on all platforms, including Steam, on October 11. CGMagazine’s favorable review of Sparking! Zero calls it “a near-perfect representation of the legendary shounen series, which comes with its own set of pros and cons but is ultimately a must-play for fans.”
Despite the strong sales of the latest Dragon Ball fighting game, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, Bandai Namco has reportedly begun cutting its workforce and cancelling other titles, according to a report from Bloomberg. The company is allegedly using a controversial method known as “oidashi beya,” or “expulsion rooms,” where employees are placed in rooms with no tasks or activities. This practice is intended to encourage employees to resign voluntarily, as Japan’s strict labour laws make it difficult for companies to directly lay off workers.
In these rooms, employees are reportedly given no tasks and are incentivized to seek other jobs. While being placed in these rooms doesn’t necessarily force employees to leave, they are informed that their performance reviews will impact their severance packages. With no work assigned, it’s difficult for employees to receive positive performance reviews, which adds pressure to resign voluntarily.
Bandai Namco has refuted these claims. A representative for the company stated, “Our decisions to discontinue games are based on comprehensive assessments of the situation. Some employees may need to wait a certain amount of time before they are assigned their next project, but we do move forward with assignments as new projects emerge.” The representative also directly denied the use of “oidashi beya,” saying, “There is no organization like an ‘oidashi beya’ at Bandai Namco Studios designed to pressure people to leave voluntarily.”
Although Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero continues to rise in popularity, Bandai Namco is continuing to evaluate game releases and make decisions accordingly.
