News June 20, 2012

Aww man, Dead or Alive 5 will not feature downloadable characters

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In my recent preview of Dead or Alive 5, I mentioned how Tecmo Koei told me that if extra characters were released as DLC, the company wouldn't charge money for them. It seems that that's most definitely the case: Tecmo Koei will not be charging players any money for downloadable fighters ... because there aren't going to be any downloadable fighters. Aww, shoot.

According to Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi, Dead or Alive 5 won't feature fighters as DLC because that would be unfair. The producer stated that the game is all about balance, and Tecmo Koei has been working hard to create a finely tuned experience. Hayashi feels that by adding new characters to the mix as DLC, the balance of the game would be disrupted.

"We feel like this is a kind of sport, and you don't change the rules for sports," explained Hayashi. "Everybody plays by the same rules. You don't have a 14-player soccer game versus an 11-player soccer game. That's just not fair."

It's kind of a shame that Dead or Alive 5 won't feature free downloadable characters. When I was told about the potential of free DLC, I was pretty excited and thought, "Hey, more developers should do this!" Yes, they definitely should. Don't worry, Tecmo Koei, I still love you.