So is it less sexy or not? We're getting some really mixed signals about Dead or Alive 6; Kayane interviews Producer Yohei Shimbori
'The sexiness of the game is on the same level as Dead or Alive 5'
The Dead or Alive community is excitedly preparing for the next franchise installment, which after roughly a two week delay, is now slated to drop on March 1st.
French fighting game player and personality Kayane was able to score an interview with Dead or Alive 6 producer Yohei Shimbori, wherein he revealed a good deal of insider perspective.
Just after the initial unveiling of DOA6, Shimbori told IGN, "We wanted to make a more cool and mature Dead or Alive this time, and to that end we made a conscious decision to make the characters less sexualized.” He tells Kayane, however, that this is actually not the case.
The Dead or Alive series has featured next to nothing swimwear and exceptionally revealing outfits so much that followers have come to expect such visuals as a mainstay attribute. As such, when word got out that developers were planning to tone said mainstay down, it quickly became a point of extended discussion.
Speculations as to why this move was to be made ranged from the idea that Team Ninja's desire to make their latest title more eSports friendly to the concept that portraying female characters with more modesty would be a service to female fans.
When Kayane brought up the topic to Shimbori, he responded with, "In an interview that was published, they said that I say the game would be less sexy in consideration of the female players, which is totally wrong, because we know that female players in the DOA fan base like to play strong and sexy women...
"[T]here was a clear misunderstanding about any form of censorship or whatnot. It was also mentioned that Sony imposed some form of censorship on the PS4 version, which is totally untrue. All versions will be the same and it was a huge misunderstanding... Coming back to the 'sexiness' of the game, it’s on the same level as DOA5."
If you're feeling like Shimbori and the development team have been sending mixed signals about this particular aspect of DOA6, you're not alone. At this point we're not entirely sure what to expect, though we've had our hunches from the beginning that there will ultimately be very little deviation from the franchise's traditional modus operandi. We'll see what winds up being the truth once the game drops in just under six weeks.
Sexuality isn't the only thing DOA6 will offer, though, as it is a fighting game through and through. Kayane also asked about plans for financial approach as we find ourselves in a time of gaming where free to play models have seen booming success.
"We’ll first be launching the physical version and then you’ll get more details on the free-to-play version," said Shimbori. "The timing isn’t clearly defined, as we don’t know if we’ll announce it near launch or the day of launch. It’s still being discussed."
Kayane then inquired, "What will the free-to-play version be like? With a few playable characters every week or… ?"
"We’re still discussing that, actually. We’re still working on the Steam version, so we’ll focus on that first and then settle on the definitive model for the free-to-play version."
There's quite a bit more to the interview including comparisons to FGC top dogs Street Fighter, Tekken and Mortal Kombat, eSports leagues and much more. Head over to Kayane's page to view it in full.
