Dead or Alive Xtreme 3

Cover art for Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Fortune featuring the series' characters, Marie Rose (left) and Honoka (right)
Developer(s)	Team Ninja
Publisher(s)	Koei Tecmo
Series	Dead or Alive Xtreme
Platforms	PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Switch
Release date(s)	JPN March 24, 2016 MEX 20160525May 25, 2016 JPN March 20, 2019 (Scarlet)
Genre(s)	Sports

Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 (デッド オア アライブ エクストリーム3, Deddo oa Araibu Ekusutorīmu Surī, DOAX3) is a 2016 video game in the Dead or Alive series developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo as the second sequel to the beach volleyball spin-off title Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball. It was released under two titles for the two different platforms, as Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Fortune for the PlayStation 4 and as Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Venus for the PlayStation Vita. The game was distributed exclusively in Asian territories, where it was released on March 24, 2016, although it does contain an English language option.

An updated version, titled Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet, was released on March 20, 2019 and features Leifang as a new added character, as well as Misaki from the spinoff game Dead or Alive Xtreme Venus Vacation, which itself was released on Steam in November 2017 exclusively in Japan.

Unlike previous games, DOAX3 is notorious for not being released in Western territories. The sexually explicit content of the Dead or Alive Xtreme series, while considered to be perfectly politically correct back in the 2000s, saw a major backlash from left-wing gamers as the result of the "Great Awokening", which effectively began, in regards to video games, with the rise of Anita Sarkeesian in the early 2010s, followed by the censorship of and biased reporting from the mainstream media and other politically correct organizations in regards to the GamerGate controversy.

Gameplay

Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 retains the camera mode from the earlier installments of the DOAX series. The game features multiple gameplay modes, which include minigames such as beach volleyball and "butt battle". Game modes include beach flag, in which characters will compete in a race to retrieve a flag, and rock climbing. The feature which displays tan lines and swimsuit malfunctions is only available in the PlayStation 4 version. In addition, there is a new suntanning system. As the player unlocks new costumes for one character, the items will be also be available for use to all characters. There are also new modes like Girl Mode, where the player can take direct control of the girl they have selected, and Owner Mode, where the player becomes an owner of another island. The player is also able to initiate various activities with the girls, such as dating.

The PlayStation Vita version uses the console's touch panel and gyro sensor features.

Development

The development of Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 was first disclosed by Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi during Dead or Alive Festival on August 1, 2015. It was officially unveiled one week later in Famitsu, and the first screenshots were published on August 21.

Even though the first two games were exclusive to the Xbox and Xbox 360 video game consoles respectively, DOAX3, as it was solely targeted at a Japanese audience, was not released for the Xbox One, which has not sold well in Japan. Instead, it is exclusive to the PlayStation brand of consoles, even though a Nintendo Switch version of the expanded Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet was released in 2019.

The PlayStation 4 version of game is to feature an improved breasts physics engine from Dead or Alive 5 Last Round, called Soft Engine 2.0, with the PlayStation Vita version using Soft Engine Lite. The Soft Engine 2.0 also allows the developers to implement greater realism towards object interactions, such as clothing wetness and deformation. The PlayStation 4 version is also going to be compatible with the PlayStation VR headset system.

The release date was originally scheduled for February 25, 2016, however it was later pushed back to March.

A free-to-play version of the game was released on May 16. The version contains all gameplay features and activities to try out, but the player can only play as Kasumi; all other characters need to be purchased additionally.

Limited release

Despite the first two games in the series achieving most of their sales in North America (primarily thanks to their Xbox exclusivity), DOAX3 was released exclusively to Asian markets, but following protests from fans, Hayashi said a version of the game "adjusted for North America" might come to the West if the demand is high enough. However, on November 24, 2015, Team Ninja posted on the franchise's Facebook page stating that they would not release the game in Western territories. The Asian version includes an English language option and is region-free on both systems. However, as a result of its limited release, the game does not include English voice overs, unlike its predecessor.

Following the announcement not to release the game outside Asia, a public debate arose whether this was due to avoid criticism of the sexualized portrayal of women in the games, or the comparatively low US and European sales of the previous game in the Dead or Alive Xtreme series. Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Interactive Entertainment's Worldwide Studios, said in a statement; "It's due to cultural differences. The West has its own thinking about how to depict women in games media which is different from Japan […] Speaking personally, if it is a representation acceptable to the general people in Japan, I wouldn't be concerned about it in Japan. It's a difficult problem". In response to the decision not to distribute, the developer behind the adult puzzle game and dating sim HuniePop offered Koei Tecmo a million dollars for distribution rights in North America.

Characters

See also: List of Dead or Alive characters

The game's nine playable female characters were selected from the 15 candidates from the roster of Dead or Alive 5 Last Round as the ones whose paid character themes have been downloaded most by fans on the PlayStation Store, but only the downloads from Japan count. The top two characters will also be featured in the first-print run bonuses. The results were announced during Tokyo Game Show 2015. No additional characters are planned to be added through DLC.

1. Marie Rose (17.6%)
2. Honoka (14.9%)
3. Kasumi (12.0%)
4. Ayane (8.2%)
5. Kokoro (8.0%)
6. Nyotengu (7.6%)
7. Hitomi (5.9%)
8. Momiji (5.1%)
9. Helena Douglas (4.9%)

Unqualified

10. Leifang (4.7%)

11. Tina (3.9%)

12. Mila (2.6%)

13. Rachel (1.8%)

14. Christie (1.5%)

15. Lisa (1.4%)

Reception

In the first week of its release, the Fortune version sold 44,723 copies while the Venus version sold 21,959 copies. In an April 2016 financial report, Koei Tecmo revealed that Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 collectively shipped 190,000 copies within a month. LewdGamer noted that the sales are higher than Koei Tecmo's Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book (170K) and Romance of the Three Kingdoms 13 (180K), two titles in the same report which were out for months longer.

Play-Asia, an import game retailer, reported that they had their highest preorder record yet with the release of Dead or Alive Xtreme 3. The prior record holder was the Japanese release of J-Stars Victory VS, a game which was initially considered unlikely to be localised due to rights limitations involving multiple anime licenses. Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 eventually broke Play-Asia sales records as well.

Famitsu reviewed both versions of the game 32/40 (8/8/8/8). Operation Rainfall gave Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 a score of 3 stars out of 5, and although praising the graphics and visual engine were praised, they found Xtreme 3 to be more of a technical demo than a finished game. They also noted that the game has "lots of replay value."

External links

• Official website (Japanese)