| Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 | |
| Developer: | Team Ninja |
| Publisher: | Koei Tecmo Digital Touch (South Korea) |
| Series: | Dead or Alive |
| Engine: | Soft Engine |
| Platforms: | PlayStation 4(Fortune/Scarlet) PlayStation Vita (Venus) Nintendo Switch (Scarlet) |
| Released: | Fortune and Venus PlayStation 4 and PS Vita Scarlet PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch |
| Genre: | Sports |
| Modes: | Single-player |
| Director: | Yohei Shimbori |
| Producer: | Yosuke Hayashi |
| Designer: | Takayuki Saga Tsuyoshi Iuchi |
| Artist: | Kazuhiro Nishimura |
| Dead or Alive Xtreme Venus Vacation | |
| Developer: | Team Ninja |
| Publisher: | Koei Tecmo |
| Series: | Dead or Alive |
| Platforms: | Microsoft Windows (DMM Games and Steam) macOS (DMM Game Player and Johren) |
| Released: | (DMM Games) (Steam) (Steam) (Johren) (DMM GAMES Player) |
| Genre: | Sports |
| Modes: | Single-player |
| Director: | Yohei Suzuki[1] |
| Producer: | Yasunori Sakuda |
| Designer: | Miyuki Maruyama Hiroki Nakajima |
| Artist: | Kazuhiro Nishimura |
| Engine: | Yawaraka Engine[2] |
is a sports video game in the Dead or Alive series developed by Team Ninja and published by Koei Tecmo. It was released on March 24, 2016,[3] as Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Fortune for PlayStation 4 and as Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Venus for PlayStation Vita. An updated version for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, entitled Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet was released on March 20, 2019.
A gacha game titled was first released in 2017 on DMM Games, before being released via Steam in 2019 for Microsoft Windows, with the browser versions which can also be compatible on macOS version for Johren and DMM Game Player were released on 2021 and 2022 respectively. A separate home console dating sim-based followup titled will be released on March 6, 2025.
Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 is a sports game played from a third-person perspective and retains the camera mode from the earlier installments in the Dead or Alive Xtreme series. It features multiple gameplay modes, which includes mini-games such as beach volleyball and "butt battle".[4] Game modes include beach flag, in which characters will compete in a race to retrieve a flag, and rock climbing.[5] The feature which displays tan lines and swimsuit malfunctions is only available in PlayStation 4 version.[6] In addition, there is a new suntanning system. As the player unlocks new costumes for one character, the items will also be available for use to all characters. There are also new modes like Girl Mode, where the player can take direct control of the girl they have selected, and Owner Mode, where the player becomes an owner of another island.[7] The player is also able to initiate various activities with the girls, such as dating.
A new variation known as Photo Paradise was released in September 2016, allowing owners to take gravure pictures of the heroines in a variety of poses and swimsuits.[8] The PlayStation Vita version uses the console's touch panel and gyro sensor features. The PS4 later added a virtual reality functionality.
In Venus Vacation the player does not directly control the characters during beach volleyball matches. Instead, the game adopts a turn-based strategy system in which the player can issue commands during time outs to prioritize attacking/spiking (labeled POW in-game) or defensive play (labeled TEC in-game), substitute players to conserve their stamina, and choose which opponent to target.
New events and gacha banners are introduced weekly as part of in-game festivals. Through these banners the player can obtain swimsuits called trendy suits which highly boost the character stats during the corresponding event. Each festival has beach volleyball matches divided in difficulty levels ranging from E to SSS+ difficulty. The higher the level cleared, the higher the rewards obtained. These rewards may contain premium currency and tickets to use on the game's gacha and consumable items to gift to the characters to raise their exp. As characters level up, new character episodes and gravure-themed cutscenes are unlocked.[9]
Venus Vacation has an extensive photo mode in which the player can make the characters pose in different parts of the Venus Island including the beach, bar, onsen,[10] and the player's private room. The latter can be decorated by the player with different motifs.
The development of Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 was first disclosed by Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi during Dead or Alive Festival on August 1, 2015.[11] It was officially unveiled one week later in Famitsu,[12] and the first screenshots were published on August 21.[13] The PlayStation 4 version of game features an improved breast physics engine from Dead or Alive 5 Last Round, called Soft Engine 2.0, with the PlayStation Vita version using Soft Engine Lite.[14] The Soft Engine 2.0 also allows the developers to implement greater realism towards object interactions, such as clothing wetness and deformation. The PlayStation 4 version is compatible with the PlayStation VR headset system.[15] The release date was originally scheduled for February 25, 2016, however it was later pushed back to March.
A free-to-play version of the game was released on May 16, 2016. The version contains all gameplay features and activities to try out, but the player can only play as Kasumi; all other characters need to be purchased additionally.[16] Originally, the PlayStation VR support patch was meant to be included for October 13, 2016, but was recently delayed for unknown reasons. Support was made available on January 24, 2017.
During the 2018 Dead or Alive festival held in Japan in November, Koei Tecmo announced a new edition of the game, Dead or Alive Xtreme 3: Scarlet, would launch for the PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch on March 20, 2019, in Japan and Asia at least, with pre-orders for the game opening on November 19, 2018.[17]
Dead or Alive Xtreme Venus Vacation was announced at Tokyo Game Show 2016 as PC-exclusive game.[18] [19] A year later during Tokyo Game Show 2017, Koei Tecmo revealed the first details about the game's gameplay and monetization.[20] In September 2017, the inclusion of a new original character called Misaki was announced[21] [22] and a trailer was released showcasing the ten characters available at launch along with more gameplay details.[23]
In an interview with Siliconera, Yasunori Sakuda commented that the reason Venus Vacation added so many new characters was due to the difficulty in reintroducing previous characters due to their existing relationships in the mainline Dead or Alive games. For Sakuda, it was much easier to make characters from scratch whose stories had a deeper focus with the player.[24]
Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 was released to Asian markets for PlayStation versions only,[25] [26] but following protests from fans, Hayashi said a version of the game "adjusted for North America" might come to the West if the demand is high enough.[27] [28] [29] [30] However, on November 24, 2015, Team Ninja posted on the franchise's Facebook page stating that they will not release the game in Western territories.[31] [32] The game was distributed in Asian territories, where it does contain an English language option, along with Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Korean language options.
Following the announcement not to release the PlayStation version of the game outside Asia, a public debate arose whether this was due to avoid criticism of the sexualized portrayal of women in the games, or the comparatively low North American and European sales of the previous game in the Dead or Alive Xtreme series.[33] [34] Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony Interactive Entertainment at the time, said in regard to Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 that Europe and North America have their cultural differences about how to depict women in video games and other media.[35] In response to the decision not to distribute, the developer behind the adult puzzle game and dating sim HuniePop offered Koei Tecmo a million dollars for distribution rights in North America.[36]
Dead or Alive Xtreme Venus Vacation was released in Japan on . A Steam version, available only on Southeast Asian countries entered open beta on .[9] [37] This version supports English, Korean, and Chinese languages and was released on . A cloud version was released on through DMM Games. A second Steam version was released on, connected to the original DMM Games version. A second international version was released on through the gaming platform Johren.
Due to its later release date, the international version of the game runs a year behind in content compared to the Japanese server. To make up for this content disparity, the international version would have occasional exclusive swimsuits and events created by the international development team that would come later to DMM. Reika, the 30th character to be added to the game, was the first character designed by the international team. To avoid upsetting Japanese players due to a delayed character release, she was released simultaneously on both versions.[38] [39]
Since release, Venus Vacation has had several collaborations with other series by Koei Tecmo, games by third parties, manga series, and more.[40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48] [49] [50] The game has also received merchandising since its inception.[51] [52]
See also: Characters of the Dead or Alive series.
The original game's nine playable female characters were selected from the 15 candidates of the roster of Dead or Alive 5 Last Round as the ones whose paid character themes have been downloaded most by fans on the PlayStation Store, but only the downloads from Japan count. The top two characters will also be featured in the first-print run bonuses. The results were announced during Tokyo Game Show 2015.[53] Originally, no additional characters are planned to be added through DLC until they were added in the updated versions prior to corresponding later titles.[54] Characters who were originally added in Xtreme Venus Vacation, currently the returning Leifang and the new character Misaki are added exclusive in Scarlet update.
Dead or Alive Xtreme Venus Vacation released with 10 playable characters. Players starting the game for the first time must select two initial girls: one from the original Xtreme 3 roster and another from the same pool of characters plus Misaki. Over time, new characters that can be unlocked via gacha, have been added with the following release dates.
In the first week of its release, the Fortune version sold 44,723 copies while the Venus version sold 21,959 copies.[56] In an April 2016 financial report, Koei Tecmo revealed that Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 collectively shipped 190,000 copies within a month.[57] [58] LewdGamer noted that the sales are higher than Koei Tecmo's (170K) and Romance of the Three Kingdoms 13 (180K), two titles in the same report which were out for months longer.[57] [58]
Play-Asia, an import game retailer, reported that they had their highest pre-order record yet with the release of Dead or Alive Xtreme 3.[59] The prior record holder was the Japanese release of J-Stars Victory VS, a game which was initially considered unlikely to be localised due to rights limitations involving multiple anime licenses.[59] [60] Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 eventually broke Play-Asia sales records as well.[61]
Famitsu reviewed both versions of the game 32/40 (8/8/8/8).[62] Operation Rainfall gave Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 a score of 3 stars out of 5, and although they praised the graphics and visual engine, they found Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 to be more of a technical demo than a finished game. They also noted that the game has "lots of replay value."[63]
Due to Venus Vacations limited release, it did not receive enough reviews in the West to score at review aggregator Metacritic. Andrew Duncan from GameGrin gave the Steam release a 4.5/10, praising the game's graphics but criticizing its long loading times, repetitive gameplay and music.[64] Matt Sainsbury from Digitally Downloaded acknowledged the game's controversial aspects but nonetheless praised its aesthetic, presentation, and relaxing gameplay.[65]
Despite not officially releasing in the West, Venus Vacation has been a success for Koei Tecmo as the game has had its most profitable year 4 years after the game's launch.[66]
In June 2018, a feature in Venus Vacation was added to the game that allowed players to pull character's clothes.[67] [68] Motherboard called the feature a harassment simulator.[69]
In January 2021, Koei Tecmo reported to the Kanagawa prefectural police that a person was selling compilations of in-game footage using a nude patch through auction sites. The company said they will file a civil suit and seek reparations for misuse of their intellectual property.[70] [71] [72]