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Spooky Savings: Amazon's 'Un-BOO-lievable' Halloween sale
Autumnal consumerism is usually linked with holidays based around turkeys and/or trees, but that hasn't stopped Amazon from conjuring up some scary-good deals to celebrate All Hallow's Eve. The available gambit of creepy-eepy savings is fairly all-inclusive, ranging from Halloweenish gore-fests like Dead Island, Rise of Nightmares and Left 4 Dead, to the more subtle, yet still emotionally horrifying Catherine. There are a few odd-balls in there like Dead or Alive Dimensions and Duke Nukem Forever, although we suppose Duke is terrifying in a more abstract sense of the word.
Dead or Alive: Dimensions reclassified in Australia
Dead or Alive: Dimensions has been reclassified "M" (Mature) by the Australian Classification Board for "violence and sexualized gameplay." The game, which previously held a PG rating, recently had its status revoked for unspecified reasons. The most likely cause for the reclassification has to do with fallout from Sweden, where the game is no longer being distributed due to "underage" DoA characters being placed in risque situations within the game's "Figure Mode." This isn't the first example of Australia changing a rating after the media picks up on a game's questionable content.
Dead or Alive: Dimensions classification revoked in Australia
The Australian classification for Dead or Alive: Dimensions has been revoked. Without a classification, the title can no longer be sold in the region. We are currently contacting Tecmo Koei for more details. This likely has something to do with certain "underage" DoA characters (who aren't yet 18) being placed in risque situations within the game's "Figure Mode." The mode caused the game's Swedish distributor, Bergsala, and Nintendo to pull the game in Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
Dead or Alive Dimensions review: Comedy masterpiece theatre
Team Ninja does not make life easy for game reviewers. Dead or Alive Dimensions, a sort of anthology volume combining all four Dead or Alive fighting games on 3DS, is clearly a great translation of the series to a portable format, beautiful to look at, and also more accessible than any DOA game to date. It's also marred by some terrible decisions, mostly around the presentation and the structure. As I played, it kind of felt like everything awesome about DOA Dimensions had been intentionally paired with a huge mistake. However, after a period of deep reflection and soul-searching, I came to the conclusion that the awesome parts are sufficiently awesome to outweigh most of the janky stuff, and a lot of the janky stuff turns out to be super hilarious anyway. Besides, the technical criteria for a successful DOA game are if the female characters' pendulous chests display soothing, hypnotic waves, and occasionally people get knocked off of waterfalls, and in both categories this game passes with flying colors. Colors flying right off of a waterfall.%Gallery-124728%
Dead or Alive: Dimensions yanked in Sweden, Norway and Denmark
Dead or Alive: Dimensions won't be available in Sweden, because it potentially violates the country's child pornography laws. The title will also skip Norway and Denmark as a result -- all three territories are covered by the same distributor, Bergsala. Eurogamer Sweden has a joint statement from Nintendo and Bergsala in which they claim to "have decided not to release the game in Sweden, for various reasons." However, neither company wished to list the reasons. Allegedly, the genesis of the drama involves a forum poster noting that three of the DoA characters are under 18 years of age, which could violate Swedish law when placed in risque situations within the game's "Figure Mode." Animated images have been subject to child pornography laws in Sweden since 1980.
Dead or Alive Dimensions demonstrates the playable bosses
Want to know what it takes to crush your opponents like a boss in Team Ninja's upcoming 3DS fighter, Dead or Alive Dimensions? Check out a whole bunch of gameplay trailers, featuring the game's most fearsome kick-punchers, posted after the break.
Enterbrain CEO: Earthquake cost the Japanese game industry 7.3 billion yen
If you've kept up with the game delays and cancellations that happened as a result of the catastrophic earthquake which struck Japan last month, you probably understand the extent of its effect on the gaming industry. Enterbrain CEO Hirokazu Hamamura recently put a number on the devastation: At a recent seminar, Hamamura revealed that according to Enterbrain's calculations, the quake caused the domestic games industry to lose ¥7,330 million ($90 million) in potential sales. That number was divided into ¥4,470 million in lost software sales -- attributed to the delay of Steel Diver, Dead or Alive Dimensions and 29 other titles that were either pushed back or canceled wholesale -- and ¥2,860 million in lost hardware sales. Hamamura ended the seminar with a hopeful message, though, explaining that most of the delayed titles had been pushed back to the first quarter of the new fiscal year, which could prove to be a boon for Japan's gaming industry. We certainly hope that's the case as well.
Dead or Alive Dimensions goes live in North America May 24
After finalizing the Japanese release date for Dead or Alive Dimensions, Tecmo Koei has provided a specific release date for the 3DS fighter in North America. You can start counterattacking busty ninjas in Ridley's lair, collecting player profiles over StreetPass, and unlocking figurines that you can pose and photograph, on May 24 -- the exact same day BlazBlue: Continuum Shift 2 arrives on 3DS. As in Japan, Tecmo Koei is offering 34 costumes through SpotPass, and giving you two opportunities to get each. One costume will be released every day from May 24 through June 26, and again from June 28 through July 31.
Dead or Alive Dimensions hits US and Japan in May
Dead or Alive Dimensions was one of the games whose release date was affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, with its March 24 release bumped to an unknown future date. Today, Tecmo Koei offered a new, final date for the 3DS fighter in Japan: May 19. The DLC schedule for SpotPass-distributed costumes has also been adjusted, with one new costume per day available for free from May 19 through June 21. The downloads will be offered again from June 23 through July 26. This release date news coincides with Nintendo of America's Q2 release list, which puts Dead or Alive Dimensions' North American release sometime in May -- the same month as BlazBlue: Continuum Shift 2. How did the 3DS become a fighting game destination?
Dead or Alive Dimensions box art deemed too leggy by ESRB [update]
The artwork adorning the cover of Dead of Alive Dimensions for 3DS when it hits the US this May will look more or less like it did on the Japanese release, with one change: no inner-thigh. Tecmo tells Joystiq that the ESRB found the original art (left) too racy because it showed too much of Kasumi's right leg. In response, the company's art department whipped up an alternate cover (right) with more, well ... coverage of the highly offensive area. Whatever -- we'll still like this vetoed cover much better. Plus, it's completely leg-fee. Update, March 24: In what seems like some backpedaling in order to make nice with the ESRB, Tecmo has told 1UP the following: "[T]his whole thing is getting blown way out of proportion. The truth is that when we submitted the box art as-is from Japan, there were a few parties both internal and external who thought there might be some issue with the image. Nobody 'demanded' anything be changed, it was just pointed out. You have to pick your battles, and covering up that small bit of the image seemed to be harmless. Honestly, if you look at the comparisons between the Japanese and US box shots, it's not like the image loses anything after the edit. "The ESRB has been very helpful working with us on recent projects. If the box art was something we felt really strongly about, we would have kept it as-is. But we just didn't really see the harm in editing it to make it appropriate for everyone involved." [Image: aussie-nintendo]
DOA Dimensions, Warriors: Legends of Troy postponed indefinitely in Japan
Two more games have been moved out of their original Japanese release dates following the recent earthquakes. Tecmo Koei announced today that Dead or Alive Dimensions for 3DS and Warriors: Legends of Troy for Xbox 360 and PS3 won't make their scheduled March 24 and March 31 releases. The publisher did not offer a new date for either release. There's little chance of Warriors' North American date being affected by this shift, since it's out -- but we're checking with Tecmo about the Western release dates for DOA Dimensions. The game was never dated in North America anyway, so the question of whether it's been delayed might be complicated.
First SpotPass-distributed DOA Dimensions costumes revealed
It wouldn't be a Dead or Alive game without patently ridiculous costumes that would humiliate the characters beyond recovery. The 3DS's Dead or Alive Dimensions has a novel way of distributing these confidence-destroying garments: online distribution through SpotPass. That means that any time your 3DS comes in contact with a wi-fi signal, it might automatically download one of 28 costumes, released over time by Tecmo Koei. One of the costumes, Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi told Famitsu, will only be available for download on launch day! That's March 24 for Japan; no North American date has been specified.
Dead or Alive: Dimensions touch screen controls designed to reduce stress
The touch screen controls in the upcoming 3DS fighter, Dead or Alive: Dimensions, may seem like sacrilege to brawler fans, but developer Team Ninja seems confident that they cater to many different players. The controls allow players to execute any technique or combo with a simple tap, essentially throwing practice out the window. Speaking to Siliconera, Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi noted that the touch-screen controls were implemented to "give players a chance to enjoy the beauty of 3D fighting games without having to work out too much to get to [a high level of skill]." He added that different players can use the controls in different ways; obviously, the controls offer an easy way to deliver combos "without much stress," but they can also be used to help players memorize combos or remember ones they may have forgotten. Based on our own experience with the game, we know of at least one other function for the touch screen -- a "win" button.
Dead or Alive: Dimensions trades 'play patterns' via StreetPass
Super Street Fighter IV 3D's StreetPass functionality has collected "figurines" fight each other whenever two people with the game pass each other within local wireless communication distance. In his recent investor briefing, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata described the StreetPass integration of another 3DS fighter, Dead or Alive: Dimensions, and it's a bit more hands-on. "In Tecmo Koei's Dead or Alive: Dimensions," Iwata said (according to Nintendo's translation), "the character parameters, which shall be determined by a player's play pattern, shall be exchanged and, as the result, you will receive a challenge from the character, [Tecmo Koei says]." If we're reading Iwata's description accurately, the game will determine your play-style over time, and then broadcast an AI character based on these patterns over StreetPass to challenge other players.%Gallery-115426%
Samus won't be playable in Dead or Alive Dimensions
Recent Dead or Alive Dimensions gameplay footage revealed the presence of a Metroid-themed level, complete with Ridley getting all up in the fighters' business. At the end of the clip, a spheroid Samus rolled in, leading many to believe she was being teased as a playable character for the 3DS fighter. Speaking to Eurogamer, Team Ninja leader Yosuke Hayashi countered this assertion. "This time she's not playable," Hayashi said. "But Samus Aran will be shown in the game. She comes to help the player. That's the collaboration shown there [in the trailer]." Hayashi suggested that a playable Nintendo character ran counter to the team's goal with Dimensions, which is "basically to create the best version of Dead or Alive." As for that non-playable appearance, it'll be an unlockable bonus. Hayashi encouraged players to find out how to unlock the bounty hunter helper on their own.
Dead or Alive Dimensions preview: touch here to win
What would you rather have: a faster framerate or 3D graphics? It's an interesting question that Dead or Alive Dimensions raises. After a few minutes playing with the 3D slider on and off, I found myself preferring the faster framerate. In a room crowded with 3D graphics, seeing a crisp, fast, smooth image was a refreshing change of pace. Running at 60 frames per second, Dimensions certainly looked like a fighter's fighter. Although Tecmo is promising series veterans will find the fighting engine fully intact in Dimensions, it's interesting to see the drastic consolations made for casual gamers, specifically the interactive Move List. The bottom screen features a comprehensive list of character-specific combos, and simply touching the combo will perform it. Can you play an entire match this way? The answer, as I found out repeatedly, is yes. In many ways, it felt like cheating, being able to instantly access some of the character's most demanding moves with a simple touch. There is some semblance of a handicap, as scrolling through the list to find a specific move is cumbersome. Thankfully, you can just tap a different move in the interim.%Gallery-114696%
Dead or Alive Dimensions has Ridley stage, Samus cameo roll
Nintendo's collaboration with Tecmo's Team Ninja didn't end with last year's Metroid: Other M. A new trailer for 3DS fighter Dead or Alive Dimensions reveals a dangerous arena encircled by lava and stalked by Ridley, the winged nemesis of Samus Aran. He's not one for mild-mannered spectating, instead spitting fire and taking an unfortunate combatant for an undignified tour around the ring. The trailer also shows that Samus has been authorized to drop a power bomb in the middle of the stage. It's flashy, and detonated without the preface of trashy fighting words -- umm, not that any DOA fighter could handle the deadpan delivery of her Other Monologues. See the video after the break, along with a trailer that shows off more gameplay and many of the game's slightly more realistic environments. You'll probably recognize a few from Dead or Alive 3 and Dead or Alive 4.
3DS 'launch window' to include more than 30 games leading up to E3
Did you hear? It's got a built-in pedometer! The 3DS measures your steps as you walk -- right there in your pocket! Even better: You can pull the thing out whenever and snap all kinds of pics -- the thing's got three cameras! And get this: It also pipes out music, browses the internet and even plays games. True, you've already got a pile of old DS games (and now defunct DS devices) that you could be playing on your new pedometer, but more than 30 three-DEE titles are expected to be released during the 3DS "launch window" (which begins March 27 and promptly closes on June 7 with the start of E3). We've listed 24 of the apparent launch-window releases after the break (though Nintendo's being coy about exact dates), including Nintendo's own Nintendogs + cats and Pilotwings Resort, plus a hearty helping of third-party support; with notable newcomers, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked (previously unannounced outside of Japan) and Crush 3D, a possible port of the 2007 PSP platforming puzzler from Sega. Don't look at the date ambiguity in dismay -- see it as an opportunity! Beginning in late March, you can walk to and from GameStop in anticipation of a new batch of games each Tuesday for ten whole weeks, and the 3DS will count your steps -- each and every one of them! And just imagine how many Street Passes you're going to rack up?
Dead or Alive Dimensions lets players double framerate by turning 3D effect off
Team Ninja boss Yosuke Hayashi has revealed in a chat with Famitsu (translated by the folks at Siliconera) that his crew's upcoming 3DS fighter, Dead or Alive Dimensions, will switch between 30 and 60 frames-per-second rendering based on whether players are using the handheld's 3D mode or not. It's a nice, if not entirely unexpected option, considering the 3DS hardware is always rendering the game at 60fps -- it's just 30fps per eye when in "3D mode." There will undoubtedly be some who prefer the smoothness of 60fps gameplay over what should be a pretty nifty 3D effect. We think it would be a smooth move for more developers to offer this option in their 3D -- as in polygons, not the effect -- games on Nintendo's new system.
Dead or Alive Dimensions trailer emerges
The Nintendo World trailer for Dead or Alive Dimensions combines the first real gameplay footage of Team Ninja's handheld fighter with some less real 3D effects. You'll know the simulated 3D when characters actually come out of the screen. Included in the trailer is footage of the digital command list in action, along with some kind of StreetPass-based multiplayer called "Street Fight," similar to the statue-fighting mode in Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition -- virtual characters battle it out automatically whenever two systems "see" one another. Also shown is "Internet Play," in which ... well, that one you can figure out.
