Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball

Did You Know?

• Zack gambles with his winnings from the Dead or Alive 3 tournament, hits the jackpot, and uses the money to buy a private island he names Zack Island.
• In January 2005, Tecmo sued the modding site Ninjahacker.net for hosting custom skins that made characters fully nude, alleging breach of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
• The game's sequel, Dead or Alive Xtreme 2, was released on November 13, 2006, exclusively for the Xbox 360.

Gameplay

In the main story mode, the player selects a woman to control during a two-week stay on the island. Volleyball matches are always two-on-two, and the player begins with a partner automatically. Each day offers three activity slots—morning, afternoon, and evening—which can be used to court new partners, challenge existing partnerships to volleyball, or simply relax. Winning a volleyball match awards money that can buy swimsuits and accessories for the player character or as gifts for other women. Money can also be earned through gambling at the island's casino. Volleyball uses two buttons: one for spiking and blocking, the other for receiving or setting. Many actions happen automatically, so the player focuses on timing; a poorly timed press results in a weak hit or a net smash. The player can manually direct their partner, but she generally covers the area left open. The game is one of the few to use the analog sensitivity of the Xbox controller's face buttons, with a softer touch allowing a barely-over-the-net hit. A relationship system governs interactions between women. Gifts and skillful play raise esteem and positive feelings toward the player's character. A good relationship with a partner improves volleyball performance, while strong ties with other women open opportunities for new partners. Negative feelings can cause missteps on the court or gifts to be thrown away unopened.

Characters

Eight characters are playable: seven from previous Dead or Alive titles and Lisa, who debuts here. Zack, voiced by Bin Shimada and Dennis Rodman, is not playable but appears in beginning and ending cinematics and small appearances throughout the game. His girlfriend Niki, voiced by Yuka Koyama, appears only in cutscenes. The playable roster consists of Ayane (voiced by Wakana Yamazaki), Christie (Kotono Mitsuishi), Helena (Yuka Koyama), Hitomi (Yui Horie), Kasumi (Houko Kuwashima), Leifang (Yumi Tōma), Lisa (Maaya Sakamoto), and Tina (Yūko Nagashima). Each character has documented likes and dislikes that affect gift acceptance. Favorable gifts match her favorite food, color, or hobbies. To suit the lighter tone, previous rivalries are reduced to general dislike, so characters who would normally try to kill each other can become friends through gift exchanges.

Development and promotion

During Dead or Alive 2's development, fans requested a beach volleyball mini-game similar to those in Street Fighter and Tekken. After Dead or Alive 3's release, the staff decided to create a standalone beach volleyball game. Tomonobu Itagaki cited spending time at a beach resort and Final Fantasy X-2 as inspirations. He wanted a game special for fans, designed exclusively for series fans, and rebuked the idea that making things for fans was negative. Making a traditional sports game was contentious; the fixed camera came from fighting game development, and the goal was an easy-to-play game with cool movements. Only the female cast is playable. Development was scheduled after Dead or Alive 3 due to the workload and the small number of female characters; fewer than eight playable characters was considered boring, so Lisa was added to reach eight. The game was first showcased at E3 2002, and again at E3 2003 alongside Dead or Alive 3, Dead or Alive Online, and Ninja Gaiden. The E3 2003 booth featured official beach models cosplaying as characters, playing beach volleyball, offering photo ops, and holding Dead or Alive 3 tag-team tournaments. The commotion caused fire marshals to shut down the power.

Reception

Reviews were mostly positive, particularly regarding the depth of the volleyball game and the high quality of visuals and animation. Scores ranged from poor to very high, resulting in averaged ratings of 74% at GameRankings and 73/100 at Metacritic. Edge highlighted the game's unusual social focus. Maxim gave it eight out of ten, noting the sharp graphics and advanced jiggle physics but also solid volleyball action. Entertainment Weekly gave it a B, saying it was difficult not to get caught up in the title. Playboy gave 74%, calling it a mildly entertaining collection of digital diversions with the best-looking virtual women in a video game. At the first Spike Video Game Awards in 2003, it won Best Animation and was nominated for Best Sports Game. In 2006, GamesRadar ranked its gravure scenes among the 100 greatest gaming moments. Conversely, GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2003 awarded it Most Embarrassing Game in the Dubious Honors category. The game sold about 600,000 copies worldwide, including over 127,000 in Japan and over 400,000 in North America and Europe combined. It was re-issued in the Platinum Collection and Xbox Classics lines in late 2003.