Dead or Alive Online Details

Here are the first screens and official details from the first ever online 3D fighting game, as a follow up to our direct feed video from last month.

Sure, we're playing catch up a bit here - but since DOA Online wasn't playable at E3 this year, it didn't make our showfloor coverage, save for the video footage we brought you a while back.

However, there's no denying the attraction of DOA Online - as the first ever 3D fighting game playable online, the game features the cast and backgrounds of DOA1 and DOA2 and looks as good as DOA3 - but the quality of gameplay will come down to the speed of play over Xbox Live.

"We are very pleased to officially announce Dead or Alive Online for the Xbox," said Tony Tarpey, Tecmo's Marketing Manager. "Dead or Alive Online opens up a whole new door to fans of the fighting genre and the DOA series by being the first 3-D fighting game with Xbox Live capabilities. Players will now be able to not only play the whole Dead or Alive series on one console but also be able to go online and fight gamers from around the world! We are bringing 3-D fighting to the masses!"

The vision behind the development of this revolutionary new title stemmed from the fact that each Dead or Alive title has been developed on the most technologically advanced video game console of the time, resulting in each game being released for different hardware platforms. Team Ninja wanted to give fans a chance to experience the whole history of the Dead or Alive on Xbox.

Dead or Alive Online will be a powerhouse combination of the double million-seller Dead or Alive 2 and the original Sega Saturn classic that started it all, Dead or Alive 1, which was never available in the US market. Dead or Alive 1 will be a perfect rendition of the sublime Sega Saturn original that will surely become an irreplaceable addition to any Dead or Alive fan's collection, and Dead or Alive 2 Online is being completely redesigned to fully harness the power of the Xbox to create incredible highquality interactive visuals that will leave players gasping for breath; visuals that were completely impossible on previous-generation game consoles.

"One of our goals in developing Dead or Alive 2 Online is to make it so that Dead or Alive 3 is only the second best looking game on the planet," said Tomonobu Itagaki, head of Team Ninja. "We are also adding a wide variety of bonus features. There will be new costumes, as well as fighting that will take full advantage of the environments in the many revamped stages. Additionally, there will be new scenes portraying the familial relationships between certain characters in their pasts that have previously been mysteries to players."

Tecmo's Team Ninja is developing and releasing Dead or Alive Online to complement the already released Dead or Alive 3 and Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, and the soon-to-come Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive: Code Cronus.

You can rely on Kikizo for more video footage and the first hands-on coverage as DOA Online nears completion, with a likely playable showing at this year's Tokyo Game Show.

John Gold
Kikizo Staff Writer