Disclosure: The translation I used and linked to in this article was done by my ex-partner. It's the only full translation I've seen, and I trust his language skills over quoting other websites.
In an interview in Famitsu producer at Koei Techmo Hayashi Yosuke of Team Ninja released some very interesting details about the release of the third title in the Dead or Alive Xtreme series. Showing that Team Ninja were listening to their fans, Hayashi states that production of DoA Xtreme 3 was started after an influx of messages from gamers stating they wanted a new Xtreme game featuring Dead or Alive 5: Last Round's infamous soft engine, an engine which improves breast physics. Team Ninja have continued to work on this engine and have stated that vast improvements have been made for the new release.
"The PS4 and Xbox One versions of DOA 5, equipped with the “Soft Engine” were well received, and almost every day someone opined, “We want to play Xtreme with the Soft Engine.”
Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 will be released for both the PS4 and Vita though Hayashi admitted there will be differences between the titles. The Vita will utilize the gyroscope and the touch screen though admitted that that graphical capabilities would be limited.
Most disappointingly perhaps was his admission that the game may not see a Western release, but rather Team Ninja will gauge the popularity of the Japanese release first.
"The fighting games are overwhelmingly more popular internationally, but in the case of Xtreme, the fans are very numerous domestically. We’ve been perplexed by this as of late, so we decided to release Xtreme 3 in the Japanese and Asian regions. But, if demand is high, we might develop a version adjusted for North America and Europe."
Hayashi was also tight lipped as to what the new game would include. He hinted that the camera function and reward systems would remain as well as several new features. Instead of needing to play as all characters to unlock all the costumes he said now that it would be possible to unlock them all simply playing with your favorite. He also talked about the tanning system which the development team are currently working on. It will be possible for the girls to tan showing tan lines dependant on the bikini they wear. However, they are still working on how the system will work.
"To begin with in terms of the appeal of sun tanning, we’re considering the boundary between what places need to be tanned and what don’t." "The method of the previous games was, when you changed swimsuits, you could see the tan lines of the previous swimsuit, but we feel that’s a bit insufficient. In this game, because skin has a realistic feel, we’ve powered up the appearance of tanning quite a bit. It’s still being tested,"
Finally Hayashi spoke about which girls would be included in this game. Dead or Alive 5: Last Round saw the number of female characters in the Dead or Alive series bumped up to 15. As Dead or Alive: Xtreme 3 is based on interactions between characters Team Ninja have decided to keep the number of characters down to 9. What is most interesting about this is that gamers will be able to choose which characters make it into the game. As of August 20th gamers were invited to download custom Dead or Alive themes from the Playstation Store. The girls whose themes have the most downloads will make it into the new release. Hayashi even stated that no girl is safe. If Kasumi, the main character of the Dead or Alive series doesn't make it into the top 9 then she won't be featured. Hayashi also stated that the top rated characters will likely come with exclusive costumes, and that characters who do not make it into the top 9 will not be released later as DLC.
"Starting today, from 8/20, custom themes are available on the Playstation Store. From those download numbers, we’ll invite the top 9 characters onto the stage." "It will be decided on genuine popularity. The images of Kasumi in this article are purely from development. If Kasumi isn’t selected, she really won’t appear."
They won’t be available as DLC later?
"If we do that, then the election wouldn’t have any meaning, so we don’t plan on making them available via DLC."
Hayashi ended the interview by announcing that a new character for the Dead or Alive series will be revealed in March. Stating that the character has gone in a "different direction".
Are you excited for the latest in the Dead or Alive Xtreme series?
