Dead or Alive Xtreme

Dead or Alive Xtreme (Japanese: デッドオアアライブエクストリーム, Hepburn: Deddo oa Araibu Ekusutorīmu; also known as DOA Xtreme or DOAX) is a beach volleyball game series created by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo (and later Koei Tecmo). It is a spin-off of the Dead or Alive series and features its female characters spending a vacation in a tropical island. Through summer-themed minigames, players can collect gifts that can be given to the characters to unlock outfits, story episodes, and exclusive cutscenes.

During the development of Dead or Alive 2, director Tomonobu Itagaki heard that fans wanted mini games on Dead or Alive games akin to other fighting games of the era. Instead of adding them to the main series however, he developed the concept into a standalone minigame compilation with emphasis on beach volleyball.^[1] Itagaki said the key word to describe the spin-off, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, was "paradise" and that the game took into account Japanese sensitivities for its portrayal of beauty, sex-appeal, and humor.^[2]

In Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, Itagaki sought to refine and expand on gameplay elements of the first game. With Dead or Alive Xtreme starting to become its own series, Team Ninja treated the development of the sequel as serious as the jump from Dead or Alive to Dead or Alive 2. In addition, to help expand the game's global appeal Xtreme 2 added English voiceovers.^[3] After Itagaki's departure, Tecmo Koei put together a one-off team called Project Venus to develop Dead or Alive Paradise, a modified port of Xtreme 2 to the PlayStation Portable. Director Yoshinori Ueda said that the new staff wanted to maintain the level of quality the series was known for while also being more open to player feedback.^[4]

Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 was teased at the "Dead or Alive Festival" event in late 2015. Later, official Koei Tecmo social media confirmed the game's existence and its exclusivity to Japanese and Asian markets.^[5] Producer Yosuke Hayashi said that this was due to the main Dead or Alive series being overwhelmingly more popular internationally with Xtreme fans being more numerous in Japan.^[6] Innovations over previous games in the series include a new graphics engine with an improved breast physics engine, iterated from the one used in Dead or Alive 5.^[7] A debate arose over Koei Tecmo's decision to skip Western markets, with claims of self-censorship or the move being a publicity stunt. Factors that might have contributed to the decision include: changes in the Western gaming landscape, a change in marketing approach after Koei took over publishing of the series,^[8] cultural differences, and diminishing sales over time.^[9] Post-release, a PlayStation VR DLC was added in early 2017 and an updated re-release followed in 2019.

After the release of Xtreme 3, Hayashi noticed that one of the trailers became the most watched video on Koei Tecmo's YouTube channel.^[10] Despite reaching 1.6 million views, this did not translate into initial sales of that magnitude. To bring the series to that audience that could not play but was nevertheless interested, Dead or Alive Xtreme Venus Vacation was conceived as a free-to-play game for PC. Venus Vacation switched genres to a sports management game to accommodate people used to mobile and browser games. It also aimed to introduce characters that were not fighters and wouldn't fit the mold of a traditional Dead or Alive game.^[11] For this reason, all characters added post-release (with the exception of Leifang and Tina) have been original to Venus Vacation. Director Yasunori Sakuda commented that it was difficult to reintroduce existing characters to the spin-off due to their established relationships in the mainline games. Conversely, it was much easier for him to create characters from scratch whose stories had a deeper focus with the player.^[12]

Seven years after Venus Vacation started operation, (now producer) Yasunori Sakuda determined that the live service game model had made it difficult for new players to jump in. Also, that the engine was becoming graphically dated after nearly a decade of use. To provide players a starting point to Venus Vacation and employ newer technology, the spin-off dating sim Venus Vacation Prism: Dead or Alive Xtreme was developed as a standalone game for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC.^[13]

While domestically Dead or Alive Xtreme has enjoyed moderate critical success, outside of Japan the series has been repeatedly criticized by the gaming press. Outside of Japan, the original Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball received the highest ratings with average review scores in addition of being the best-selling game in the sub-series with around 600,000 copies sold worldwide,^[37][38] while its sequels sold less copies and scored mostly in the negative range with Dead or Alive Paradise and Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 having the lowest ratings.^[39][40]

Since its inception, the series has been referred as voyeuristic,^[41][42] soft porn,^[43] and guilty of perpetuating negative stereotypes.^[44][45] The franchise has been cited as a negative example of sexism in video games.^[46] Most games in the series have been controversial, even involving platform holders Microsoft^[47] and Sony^[48] in certain instances.

Over time, the series has been reassessed in the West. Writing for IGN, Casey DeFreitas reflected on how the early games in the series deserved more recognition for their fun gameplay.^[49] Matt Sainsbury from Digitally Downloaded commented how Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 was more humorous and over-the-top than sleazy and that it excelled at what it set out to do.^[50] Jeff Grubb from VentureBeat stated that while certain in-game actions shown on the Xtreme 3 DLC trailer can make some viewers uncomfortable, technological advances in virtual reality and deepfakes raise bigger concerns as they can affect real people.^[51]

• Dead or Alive Xtreme series at MobyGames