Why Dragon Ball: Sparking Zeros 90% Player Count Drop Isnt Concerning

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Why Dragon Ball: Sparking Zeros 90% Player Count Drop Isnt Concerning

As a lifelong Dragon Ball enthusiast who can recall the days of watching Goku and his friends battle it out on Saturday mornings, I must say that my initial excitement for Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero was through the roof! The game’s impressive sales numbers only fueled my anticipation, but as a dedicated fan, I found myself somewhat disappointed when the player count dropped dramatically.

Despite an initial surge of over three million sales for Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, the number of players has plummeted by nearly 90% within just a month since its release. This significant drop in player count raises some concerns, but there’s hope on the horizon.

The current total of Steam users playing Sparking Zero, a record since its release, is at 122,554. Although this number has been gradually decreasing, a steep 90% decline on Steam is unexpected given the game’s widespread acclaim among long-time fans of the series. However, the positive feedback hasn’t managed to resolve all the problems with Sparking Zero. Among these issues are reports of hacking and balance troubles stemming from developer Spike Chunsoft’s aim to align the game with franchise lore. These factors might explain the drop in players. Fortunately, there are future plans for the game, as three DLC packs are set to be released in 2025, adding content to the base game.

Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero’s Planned DLCs Bode Well For the Game’s Future

Reigniting Hype One Expansion at a Time

Excitedly speaking as a fan, Spike Chunsoft has revealed that they’ve got three exciting DLC packs lined up for “Sparking Zero”. The first two are slated for release in Q1, with the third following suit sometime in Q2, though the exact dates remain undisclosed. While we’re still waiting for the official reveal, I can hardly contain my anticipation as these expansions promise to boost “Sparking Zero” even further. As of now, only a handful of new characters have been confirmed for these DLCs, but hints in promotional materials suggest that over 20 fresh faces are set to join the roster!

What We Know About Sparking Zero’s Upcoming DLCs

  • DLC 1 (Q1) – Confirmed characters for this DLC are Gamma 1 and Gamma 2, with unannounced characters from Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
  • DLC 2 (Q1) – Confirmed characters for this DLC are Glorio and Vegeta (Mini), with unannounced characters from Dragon Ball Daima.
  • DLC 3 (Q2) – There are currently no announced characters for the third expansion, but they will also be from Dragon Ball Daima.

For the initial part of 2025, Sparking Zero has an enticing blueprint laid out. Although specifics about these upcoming developments remain shrouded in mystery, there’s a palpable anticipation for the game’s DLCs, and it’s expected that the influx of new content will attract more players to the game. Additionally, if Spike Chunsoft continues to churn out expansions at a regular pace, this could significantly extend the lifespan of the game, as players can look forward to receiving fresh updates every three months.

Despite the drop in players,
Sparking Zero
‘s reviews on Steam boast “very positive” ratings.

Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero Has Plenty of Time to Improve

Addressing Player Concerns

Beyond upcoming DLCs, the game Sparking Zero is in its early stages of development. Being less than a month old, there’s still plenty of time for Spike Chunsoft to potentially tackle balance issues and the contentious hacking feature. While it makes sense that the developer would aim to align Sparking Zero with franchise lore, the excessive power of certain characters can also be aggravating. Finding a middle ground on this matter is challenging, however. Maybe a separate mode that maintains character integrity could be an option, but implementing such a feature might not be easy.

Currently, I don’t have any information at hand about how many players are enjoying Sparking Zero on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S platforms yet.

It’s surprising to witness a popular game experiencing such a significant drop in players so quickly, but given that fresh content is on its way, it’s improbable that this trend will persist indefinitely. Admittedly, it might not regain its all-time peak of players, but Sparking Zero can still have a long and fruitful lifespan ahead.

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2024-11-08 21:53