Dead or Alive 5

Unreleased

Dead or Alive 5 (デッド・オア・アライブ・ファイブ, Deddo oa Araibu Faibu), also referred to as DOA5, is set to be the fifth main versus-fighting installment in the Dead or Alive franchise. It will be the first main title of the series to be released in seven years, following on from Dead or Alive 4 in 2005 and it will be the twelfth game in the series overall.

Dead or Alive 5 is being developed and produced by Team Ninja for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Due to a new partnership formed between Tecmo Koei and the Sega Corporation, Sega will be handling the publication and distribution of the title in Europe while Tecmo Koei will publish it in all other regions.

There is a possibility that the game might be released on the upcoming Nintendo console, the Wii U but nothing has been confirmed yet.

Announced on September 14, 2011, it was originally stated that Dead or Alive 5 was going to have a September 2012 simultaneous release in both NTSC and PAL territories. However, this was later changed. Currently, the game is set to be first released in America on September 25, 2012, then Japan on September 27, then in Europe on September 28.

Early Release Rumors
For about half a decade, Dead or Alive 5 had an uneasy conception and the possibility of the game even being released seemed very unlikely at some points.

In 2006, after the release of Dead or Alive 4, series creator Tomonobu Itagaki stated in an interview with gaming website 1UP.com that he had the first concepts for Dead or Alive 5 in mind. However two years later, in an interview with CVG, Itagaki was asked about the Dead or Alive series and he replied: "This is another area that me and my closest colleagues all agree that we were able to achieve the definitive fighting game with "Dead or Alive 4." So we're not looking to extend the series at this point." Even if he did have Dead or Alive 5 in the planning stages, Itagaki had sued Tecmo and resigned from the company in 2008 along with several other colleagues, stating that this would lead to the end of production for Dead or Alive 5 and its series.

However, Tecmo replied with the announcement that Team Ninja would not be dissolved upon Itagaki's departure, stating that both the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive franchises would remain in production and "some projects were already underway." Two years after Itagaki's departure from the company, Team Ninja released Dead or Alive Paradise in 2010, and Dead or Alive: Dimensions in May 2011.

In April 2011 the current head of Team Ninja, Yosuke Hayashi told Eurogamer that after Dead or Alive: Dimensions received "positive feedback and responses from consumers" there was definitely a future for the series. When asked "Will Dead or Alive 5 appear on home consoles, including the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360?", Hayashi replied that Team Ninja "will take that into consideration," hinting that Dead or Alive 5 or another Dead or Alive game could be developed in the future. To back up the possibility of a sequel, the story campaign of Dimensions finished on a cliffhanger scene.

Official Announcement
On September 9th, 2011, Team Ninja announced on their official Twitter feed that they would be appearing at Tokyo Game Show 2011 for the playable debut of Ninja Gaiden 3 as well as to showcase a new game.

Five days later, on September 14, 2011, Team Ninja revealed Dead or Alive 5 during a pre-TGS press event and showed media personnel a brief gameplay demonstration, featuring Hayate and Ryu Hayabusa fighting in the new stage Scramble, and a promotional image showing the lower half of a female fighter's face, with the text "I'm a Fighter" superimposed over the image. (Most fans believe that the woman in the image is Kasumi. However, others said it could be Hitomi or even the two girls merged together. The identity of the woman hasn't been officially stated.) Team Ninja stated that the game would have a multi-platform release for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

During the demo, Team Ninja was quoted saying that the stages in Dead or Alive 5 would no longer be "sidekicks" to the action but would be critical parts of the competitive experience with the whole game revolving around the theme "fighting entertainment." At the time of the announcement, the game was only at "pre-alpha" stages of development.

Shortly after its reveal, an official website for Dead or Alive 5 was opened.

September 2011 - November 2011
Due to a misunderstanding or a mistranslation, false rumors got out that the PlayStation 3 version of Dead or Alive 5 would support the console's motion control system, the PlayStation Move. However, there is no official evidence showing that the game will support Move.

On September 18th, 2011, Famitsu, a Japanese gaming publication, quoted the following Yousuke Hayashi and Team Ninja's views of motion control consoles: "Hayashi said that Move is good for 'giving the players the feeling that they are Ryu Hayabusa.' With Kinect, on the other hand, Team Ninja 'felt that it's difficult to give the feeling of swinging a katana.'"

While the quote was obviously about Ninja Gaiden 3 (in which the player-character uses a katana), Andriasang, who are known for publishing English translations of Japanese gaming articles, stated it was about Dead or Alive 5 instead. IGN followed up the story with an article of their own, and N4G soon followed. However, since then Andriasang and IGN have taken down their articles on the subject.

December 2011 - February 2012
On December 7th, 2011, it was announced in a preview article by Famitsu magazine that Dead or Alive 5 was "15% complete."

On the same day, Team Ninja held a press event in San Francisco to talk about their up-coming games, including Dead or Alive 5, with a playable demo of the game made available for media staff to try out. During the event, gameplay elements including information about Power Blows were given and Ayane and Hitomi were confirmed as returning playable characters.

In an interview with GamesBeat, published on December 9th, 2011, Yosuke Hayashi talked about using additional downloadable content "as a way to add more stuff and increase the longevity of the title, if [Team Ninja are] adding stuff later [they] think that [...] fans will enjoy," hinting at the possibility of DLC from Dead or Alive 5 for after the game is released.

On February 8th, 2012, it was announced that Team Ninja would be hosting a series of press events over two weeks in various locations across the world, in order to showcase the alpha demo of Dead or Alive 5, as well as Ninja Gaiden 3 and Ninja Gaiden Sigma PLUS. It started on February 9th, 2012, in New York City, followed with European visits to London, Hamburg, Paris, Madrid, Milan, and Stockholm.

March 2012 - May 2012
On March 1st, 2012, Team Ninja released a teaser image of Kasumi's arm via their official Twitter feed, confirming her appearance in Dead or Alive 5, while stating that they will follow up with a proper image of her the following week. The same day, they also confirmed that they will be showing a new trailer and that the Western release of Dead or Alive 5 will feature an English voice cast, making this the fifth game in the series to have English voice acting.

On March 5th, 2012, the official Dead or Alive 5 website was updated, with a page for screenshots and a new gameplay trailer. The first half of the trailer showed a fight in the new Flow stage between Ayane and Kasumi, marking the latter's first official appearance for Dead or Alive 5 and confirming her role as a playable character. The second half moved onto a fight in the same location, between Kasumi and Akira Yuki, the mascot of Sega's Virtua Fighter series. This confirmed that Akira will be a guest playable character for Dead or Alive 5.

On March 5th and 6th, 2012, Tecmo Koei and Team Ninja announced a September 2012 simultaneous release date for the NTSC and PAL versions of the game for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

On March 14, 2012, a new trailer was released. While it featured the same stage from the first trailer, this time it featured a fight between Ayane and Hitomi. On March 19, 2012, the official website was updated with a basic gameplay manual and a survey to go alongside the demo which was released with special editions of Ninja Gaiden 3.

On April 23, 2012, it was revealed via Team Ninja's Twitter feed that two characters would be revealed during this week. Three days later, on April 26, Famitsu magazine released an article about Dead or Alive 5 revealing Christie and Bayman, confirming them for the game. At 3pm GTM the same day, Tecmo Koei released a gameplay trailer of Christie and Bayman fighting in a new stage called Hot Zone.

On May 10, 2012, an article by Siliconera revealed that Tecmo Koei aim to sell one million copies of Dead or Alive 5 and that they will be releasing paid downloadable content for the title, which they had done for their other core titles, such as Ninja Gaiden 3 and Warriors Orochi 3.

On May 23, 2012, Leifang and Zack were confirmed for Dead or Alive 5 in another Famitsu magazine article. The article showed a render of Leifang and screenshots of the two fighters battling it out in a circus-themed arena called The Show. The following day, at 5pm GMT, Tecmo Koei released a gameplay trailer featuring Leifang and Zack.

Tecmo Koei attended London MCM Expo, which ran for a three-day weekend from May 25, 2012 to the 27th. The company was there to showcase their latest releases, including Dead or Alive 5, with a number of consoles set up so the public may play the demo version of the game. On the 26th, a Dead or Alive 5 tournament was held on the Gamespot stage, with 32 entries. The tournament winner was a player known as Messy, who was also the previous Dead or Alive 4 TGS champion.

June-August 2012
Tecmo Koei attended the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012, commonly known as E3, which ran from June 5th to June 7th, 2012. In collaboration with the online gaming reviewer IGN, the IGN Pro League Dead or Alive 5 consent was held, with live-streaming of the tournament being hosted on the IGN website and the finals held on the last day of E3. The tournament used an improved demo version of the game, known as the "Beta Demo," which includes improved gameplay, more stages, and more playable characters.

On the first day of the Expo, an online trailer was released at 7PM GMT. The trailer showed off a new stage, and confirmed the return of Kokoro, Tina Armstrong, and the addition of guest character Sarah Bryant from Virtua Fighter, as well as the new stage Sakura. Screenshots also released that day confirmed the return of Bass Armstrong.

On June 6, it was confirmed that a special version of Dead or Alive 5, called the "Collectors Edition" would be released.

On June 8, Team Ninja released a graphic on their official Facebook page announcing their planned release dates for Dead or Alive 5 - September 25th, 2012 in America, September 27th, 2012 in Japan, and September 28th, 2012 in Europe. This is different from the original worldwide simultaneous release they announced.

On June 27, in this month's issue of Famitsu magazine, brand new character Rig was seen for the first time. The magazine also revealed a new mode called "Camera Mode", which will allow players to take in-game pictures of the fighters, in addition to being able to save replay footage. Later that day, a new trailer was released showing gameplay footage of Rig in the new stage Fuel; first he fights against Christie then Bass.

On July 18th, 2012, the latest issue of Famitsu featured more scrrenshots from the game, and revealed Jann Lee as a returning playable character. The following day, a new trailer was released to showcase the Tag Team gameplay for Dead or Alive 5. Not only did Jann Lee appear in the footage, La Mariposa can be seen briefly during the video.

On August 8th, 2012, another trailer was released, focusing around an international televised announcement of the return of the Dead or Alive Tournament Executive Committee and the fifth Dead or Alive Tournament. As well as featuring previously announced characters, the trailer confirmed the return of Helena Douglas, Brad Wong, Eliot, and Gen Fu. The trailer also showed Alpha-152, the final boss of Dead or Alive 4 and the main antagonist Victor Donovan.

On the evening of August 21th, 2012, Tecmo Koei and IGN hosted a free London event for fan to play Dead or Alive 5, with a limited amount of tickets offered. It included tournaments for Dead or Alive 5 related products, a chance to ask questions to the developers, and free food and drink.

September 2012
On September 11, 2012, a trailer was released to official introduce the new character Mila. The video included Mila fighting against Zack and Tina, as well as a sample of a cutscene.

On September 12, 2012, Famitsu magazine revealed that Pai Chan from Virtua Fighter will be a guest character for the title, making her the third guest character for Dead or Alive 5 to be announced. The article also confirmed that Gen Fu would be returning as a playable character.

"Make Your Move!" Contest
On October 28, 2011, Team Ninja announced a contest via their official Dead or Alive Facebook page. The contest invited anyone to create and submit examples of their own fighting moves, and from those entered one or possibly more would be picked and be worked into the final version of Dead or Alive 5. The creators of the moves will also have their names in the staff credits.

The contest ended November 18, 2011, although the application form for entry was still active for a few days afterwards. It's unknown when Team Ninja will publish the names of the winners.

It's been reported that over 500 entries had been submitted for the competition, and as of the San Francisco press event, two entries have been picked to be placed into the game.

Partnership Between Tecmo Koei and Sega
Tecmo Koei Europe have announced a new partnership with the Sega Corporation for Dead or Alive 5, in which the latter will handle the publication and distribution of the game in Europe. This is due to the costs required for marketing and localization in Europe.

As part of the agreement, Dead or Alive 5 will include Akira Yuki, Sarah Bryant and Pai Chan, characters of Sega's Virtua Fighter series, as exclusive additions to its roster. There is a possibility of other Virtua Fighter characters joining the roster too.

Plot
In a recent interview with GameSpot, it was revealed that the game's Story Mode will be in the form of one long sequence, like Dead or Alive: Dimensions's Chronicle Mode. The story will also be in "hyperlink cinema style." This will cause more character interactions and stage interactions.

The story is set two years after the events of Dead or Alive 4. Helena Douglas has begun rebuilding the Dead or Alive Tournament Executive Committee for the better, ordering the dissolution of the Biotechnology Division, the indefinite suspension of the Military Division's Projects Alpha, Epsilon and Omega, and the expulsion of all members of the Donovan faction from DOATEC's offices around the world. To show the world how the company has changed, Helena announces that she will be holding the fifth Dead or Alive tournament.

Controls Overview
It has been said that the controls for Dead or Alive 5 feel and play very similarly to previous Dead or Alive titles, so if you’ve played the series in the past Dead or Alive 5 shouldn’t be very difficult to pick up. The overall fighting system is based on the Triangle System and Mid-kicks and Mid-punches can be advanced held, which is being called "Expert Hold." The Expert Hold seems to be standard for all characters. The alpha demo featured 3-point holds (high, mid, and low) but following feedback it has been changed to 4-point holds (high, mid-punch, mid-kick, and low). The sidestepping system in the game is similar to that of Dead or Alive 3.1.

Like in Dead or Alive: Dimensions, the player will have the option to view Move Data on screen during fights and hit effects will be included so the player can tell if a strike hits high, mid, or low by the direction of the effect. However, this feature can be turned off.

Gameplay Modes and Online Play
Alongside the story campaign and the standard one-on-one Fighting Mode, Tag Battle will also be returning in Dead or Alive 5, allowing players to team up in pairs to take on another pair in combat. Training Modehas been given a major re-vamp. It now possessed record functionality, and players will be able to adjust the network speed. There is also a "bonus mission mode" which gives optional missions during Story Mode battles to teach players everything from basic controls to advanced fighting techniques.

The game will support both local and online play but it has been stated that the online lobbies from Dead or Alive 4 - which allowed players to interact with one another via avatars - will not be returning. This was decided because the Dead or Alive 4 interactive lobbies actually had a huge impact on the game's netcode and caused gameplay to lag. To ensure everyone has lag-free matches, Team Ninja decided to remove the lobbies altogether.

Power Blows
One new gameplay feature in Dead or Alive 5 is the Power Blow or Power Move. By holding the corresponding button on the controller, a unique attack can be charged up that will unleash a slow-motion cinematic combo that ends by allowing the player to “aim” where they would like to launch their opponent, including into Danger Zones. Players are able to hold the control for a while to charge the attack.

At the San Francisco press event, it was revealed that during this cinematic event, while the attacking player could influence where the move would hit, the defending player could react in a way to lessen damage. It was later revealed in Team Ninja's twitter that Power Blows would be un-holdable except by Expert Holds.

Selection Screen Stats
As seen in Alpha demo gameplay footage, while waiting for highlighted characters to load up in the character selection screen, a silhouette of the characters will be shown, with stats over the top - Attack, Throw, Hold, Power, Speed, and Technic - which shows what the fighters are capable of in battle. It's believed that Attack, Throw, and Hold relate to the power of strikes, throws, and holds respectively; Power could relate to their overall strength, Speed for how fast they move, and Technic could relate to how difficult it is to learn the character.

Interactive Stages
In Dead or Alive 5, stages will not only act as visual backdrops to accompany the fight but also play to a fighter’s strengths. As a fight progresses, the backdrop will change and interact with players, giving them a different challenge. Changes to the stages will happen as scripted events and be triggered by player actions, such as one of the fighters being thrown against a Danger Zone.

There will be a new type of Danger Zone called a Cliffhanger. As opposed to simply falling when you get knocked down near empty footing, (e.g. over the edge of a cliff) the opponent has minimal time to recover, while their foe can choose to attack, sending them falling anyway but with additional damage. These cliffhangers will only appear in certain stages while featuring multiple levels.

Improved Graphical Detail
Character models have been greatly improved in comparison to previous Dead or Alive titles. The overall designs seen so far have shown to be moving away from the previous anime-like style, with unrealistic proportions such as very large eyes, and now character designs in Dead or Alive 5 look very similar to those in current Ninja Gaiden titles, with a more realistic look.

Toning Down the Sexuality?
GamesRadar pointed out a notable change on new character models; that the female characters were bearing more modest bust sizes and the "breast physics," which make the girls' breasts move and bounce, had been toned down. Formerly, most of the women in the series were sexualized to the point of ridiculousness - especially in the Dead or Alive Xtreme sub-series - however, the girls seen early on seemed to have smaller breasts (although this was debatable) and were wearing new clothing that was less revealing compared to some of their old costumes.

However, it is more likely that early on less effort had yet to be put into these details and it seems as though the "old" physics are back, similar to Dead or Alive Xtreme 2. There are also special "sexy costumes" available, including swimsuits.

Director Yohei Niibori had stated in an interview with Famitsu magazine on April 29, 2012, that the movement of the female's breasts will differ depending on which costume they happen to be wearing at the time; e.g. a tighter costume or a costume fitted with a bra will result in less movement.

Sweat and Dirt Physics
All character models will also visibly "sweat" as they fight. The more energy they put into a fight, the more sweat will appear. This could result in costumes becoming transparent but levels of transparency will differ by costume. This cosmetic design is meant to make players feel more involved in the action and give the fighters on screen a grittier, more realistic design that adds a new layer of depth to the series.

During the San Francisco press event, it also showed fighters becoming dirty during the course of the fight, with mud and dust covering their clothing and skin.

Different Versions of Title
So far, two retail additions of Dead or Alive 5 have been announced, and one demo version of the game has been publicly released.

Playable Demo Edition
On December 15, 2011, it was announced that codes for the alpha demo version of Dead or Alive 5 would be included in special editions of Ninja Gaiden 3, which was released in March 2012.

The demo is different depending on which edition you buy: the Limited Editions only featured two playable characters - Ayane and Hayate on the Xbox 360 version and Hitomi and Ryu on the PlayStation 3 version. The Collector's Edition has all four characters on both consoles.

Apart from character choices, all versions of the demos are the same. The demo includes a controls guide via the title screen and limited changeable options, including choosing between English and Japanese voices in Western versions. Only one-on-one Versus Mode is playable, with all other gameplay modes being locked out.

Since the day of release, to April 29, 2012, there was an online survey active on the official Dead or Alive 5 website, in which Team Ninja asked for feedback from players who had tried out the demo, in order to improve the game for its final release. Questions on the survey included impressions of the fighting system, as well as the demo's graphics and aesthetics.

It's unknown if a free demo will be released for Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network, as it was the case with previous Dead or Alive titles.

Standard Edition
The standard edition of Dead or Alive 5 will just include a copy of the game. However, the first batch will also include download codes for "Kasumi and Ayane Sexy Costume"; two additional costumes for Kasumi and Ayane. This DLC can also be downloaded without a code as paid DLC.

Collectors Edition
Main article: Dead or Alive 5 Collectors Edition

The announcement of a "Collectors Edition" of Dead or Alive 5 was placed on the Japanese website for the title. Later on, it was announced that the Collectors Edition will be available from selected retails in America and Europe. The current price for the Collectors Edition is $79.99 and will include:
 * A copy of Dead or Alive 5
 * A copy of the official visual book
 * A copy of the original soundtrack
 * A full-color wall poster
 * Download code for "Premium Sexy Costume"; twelve female character costumes
 * A high-quality embossed metal case packing

The Japanese version of the Collectors Edition is slightly different; include of the wall poster, it features postcards and "metal plates".

Downloadable Content
Main article: List of Dead or Alive 5 Downloadable Content

On May 10, 2012, an article by Siliconera revealed that Tecmo Koei will be releasing paid downloadable content for Dead or Alive 5.

Yosuke Hayashi has stated they will not be releasing any characters or stages as DLC, as Team Ninja views it as unfair to players who cannot afford to pay for the DLC and because it will make it harder to balance the game.

So far, three costume sets have been announced: "Premium Sexy Costume" for the twelve female members of the cast will be available with the Collectors Edition. If players pre-order the game, they can choose between two exclusive sets of in-game bunny-girl swimsuits: the 'DOA Angels' set of white swimsuits for Kasumi, Leifang, and Hitomi or the 'DOA Devils' black swimsuits for Christie, Tina, and Ayane.

Characters
Also See: List of Dead or Alive 5 Characters

In an interview with the gaming blog Siliconera, published on November 25, 2011, Yosuke Hayashi has confirmed that new characters will be added to the fighter roster for Dead or Alive 5. Three guest characters have been confirmed.

Returning Characters

 * Ayane
 * Bass Armstrong
 * Bayman
 * Brad Wong
 * Christie
 * Eliot
 * Gen Fu
 * Hayate
 * Helena Douglas
 * Hitomi
 * Jann Lee
 * Kasumi
 * Kokoro
 * La Mariposa
 * Leifang
 * Ryu Hayabusa
 * Tina Armstrong
 * Zack

New Characters

 * Mila
 * Rig

Guest Characters

 * Akira Yuki
 * Pai Chan
 * Sarah Bryant

Rumored Characters
On March 23, 2012, user Sectus on the NeoGAF gaming forum published a list of character names found on an executable on the alpha demo of Dead or Alive 5 and stated that there will be at least six costumes per character.

Character names include Leon and Alpha-152. Characters who have been playable in previous titles but not present on the list include Ein, Genra, Gohyakumine Bankotsubo, Kasumi Alpha, Shiden, Raidou, and Nicole-458. This could mean that they will not be returning to the roster in Dead or Alive 5 but nothing has been officially stated as of yet.

More Character Announcements After Release?
According to Tecmo Koei, there could be more character announcements after the game's release.

In an interview with Famitsu.com, Yousuke Hayashi said that the game has unannounced characters, as of August 20, 2012. Asked if these unannounced characters are from Dead or Alive or Virtua Fighter, Hayashi said that there may be some of each. Some characters have to be unlocked through play, so Hayashi feels that it's okay to not reveal all the characters in advance.

Hayashi has also stated that he would like more cameos in Dead or Alive 5 after launch, saying that his ideal cameo would be Ryo from Sega's 1999 adventure game Shenmue.

Reception
Before the game's release, Dead or Alive 5 was given the "Best of Fighters" award by the gaming blog Destructoid at Gamescom, hosted from August 15th - 19th, 2012 in Cologne, Germany.

Also See

 * DOA5/Alternate Outfit Datasheets
 * DOA5/Merchandise
 * DOA5/Promotional Artwork and Wallpapers

Trivia

 * Dead or Alive 5 will be the first Dead or Alive game for the PlayStation 3, and the third title in the series for a Sony home console. It will also be the fourth game in the series for any type of Sony platform. In addition, Dead or Alive 5 will be the second main game of the series for the Xbox 360.
 * Due to negative fan reaction, Hitomi's Dead or Alive 5 design was changed. Most notably, her ears were made smaller and her face was made rounder. She is the only character so far to have to be changed from her first design.
 * Due to a misprint, Kasumi was absent in the North American Xbox 360 version of the of the game's box art. This, however has been corrected in the final packaging of the game.
 * Dead or Alive 5 is featured in a Guinness World Record - "The fastest defeat of a computer opponent in Dead or Alive 5 (Team Ninja, 2012)" was 10.61 seconds and was achieved by Phil Joseph at Hoxton Gallery, London, UK, on August 21, 2012.