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) will be the fifth main versus-fighting installment in the Dead or Alive series. 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 the twelfth game in the overall series.

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 other regions. There is also a possiblity of a release for the upcoming Nintendo console, the Wii U, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

Announced on September 14, 2011, Dead or Alive 5 is going to have a September 2012 simultaneous release in both NTSC and PAL territories.

Early Release Rumors
For about half a decade, Dead or Alive 5 has 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 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 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 produced 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 the publisher asked "Will Dead or Alive 5 appear on home consoles, including the and ?", Hayashi replied that Team Ninja "will take that into consideration", hinting that Dead or Alive 5 or another Dead or Alive game could be devoloped in the future. To back up the possibility of a sequel, the story of Dimensions finished on a cliffhanger scene, showing Victor Donovan putting on Genra's mask before fading to black.

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

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, 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 have said it could be Hitomi, or even the two girls merged together. The identity of the woman hasn't been officially stated. They also announced that this game would have a multi-platform release for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

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

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

"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 move, 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 name in the 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 enteries had been submited for the competition, and as of the San Fransisco press event, two enteries 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, the mascot of Sega's Virtua Fighter series, as an exclusive addition to its roster. There is a possibility of other Virtua Fighter characters joining the roster too.

Pre-Release
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-only event in San Francisco to talk about their up-coming games, including Dead or Alive 5, with a playable demo of the game to be made available for media staff to try out. During the event, gameplay elements including information about "Power Moves" were given, and Ayane and Hitomi were confirmed as returning playable characters.

In a interview with GamesBeat, published on December 9, 2011, Yosuke Hayashi talked about using additional downloadable content "as a way to add more stuff and increase the longevity of the title, if we’re adding stuff later we think that [...] fans will enjoy", hinting at the possibly of DLC for 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.

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 a 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 update, with a page for screenshots and a new gameplay trailer. The first half of the trailer showed a fight on a platform in the middle of rapid-moving waters between Ayane and Kasumi, marking the latter's first official appearance in Dead or Alive 5. 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 confirms 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 version 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 along side the demo being released with special editions of Ninja Gaiden 3.

Playable Demo Release
On December 15, 2011, it was announced that an alpha demo version of Dead or Alive 5 will be included in special editions of Ninja Gaiden 3, which will be released March 22, 2012. The demo is different depending on which edition you buy: the Limited Editions will only feature two playable characters - Ayane and Hayate on the PlayStation 3 version, and Hitomi and Ryu on the Xbox 360 version. The Collection Edition has all four characters on both consoles, but will cost 13,440 yen (roughly $170 US). 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.

Fake PlayStation Move Annoucement
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 being made could be for Move.

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, 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.

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 been good at 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 looks to be standard for all characters, and looks like it balances with the somewhat easier 3 point hold. The sidestepping system in the game is apparently similar to that in Dead or Alive 3.1.

Like in Dead or Alive: Dimensions, the player will have the option to view Move Lists and Move Details 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.

Power Blows
One new gameplay feature is the Power Blow, or Power Move. By holding the right trigger or bumper, 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 Danger Zones. Players are able to hold the control for a while to charge the attack.

At the San Fransisco press event it was revealed that Power Blows initiated a cinematic event where the attacking player could influence where the move would hit while 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 relates to the power of strikes, throws and holds respectively, Power could relate to their overall strength or their Power Throws, Speed for how fast they move, and Technic could relate to how difficult it is to learn how to play the character.

Interactive Stages
So far, Team Ninja has spoken about two new assists that will appear in the game. Firstly, the 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.

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 simular to those in current Ninja Gaiden titles, with a more realistic look.

GamesRadar pointed out a notable change on new character models; that the female characters are bearing more modest bust sizes and the "breast physics", which make the girls' breasts move and bounce, have been toned down. Formerly, most of the women in the series were sexualized to the point of ridiculousness - specially in the Dead or Alive Xtreme sub-series - however, the preview images of Ayane and Hitomi have shown the girls may have smaller breasts, and they are wearing new clothing that are less revealing compared to their old costumes, although it's still unknown how they are going to be treated on the final version of the game.

All character models will also visibily "sweat" as they fight. The more energy they put into a fight, the more sweat will appear. 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.

Characters
In a 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, and that the design for existing characters will also be updated. One guest character has been confirmed.

Returning Characters

 * Ayane
 * Hayate
 * Hitomi
 * Kasumi
 * Ryu Hayabusa

Guest Characters

 * Akira Yuki

Also See

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

Trivia

 * Dead or Alive 5 will be the first Dead or Alive game for the PlayStation 3, and the first title for a Sony home console since Dead or Alive 2, which was released on the PlayStation 2 back in 2000, 12 years earlier. Dead or Alive 5 will also be the fourth game in the series for a Sony platform, following the 2010 title Dead or Alive Paradise for the PlayStation Portable.