Dead or Alive 6 producer and director, Yohei Shimbori, was interviewed by TwinGalaxies, a hardcore gaming outlet that actually knows what they’re talking about. He was asked a few questions about the feedback and criticisms that fans have lobbed at Team Ninja regarding the development of Dead or Alive 6, which has been paraded around by game journalists as having “less sexualized” females and for being made to attract casual gamers. Well, Shimbori told the gaming outlet that fans shouldn’t worry.

Initially Shimbori addressed fans who have been angry that the costumes have been changed and made more modest and conservative for the females, even though the males are still allowed to be bare chested and to lose their clothing. He stated…

“I got a lot of feedback worrying about that. The costumes that we have been showcasing are only a part of the game. But I don’t want everyone to be worried because we’re expecting a lot more costumes coming out.”

Most hardcore fans reacted negatively to seeing Kasumi not donning her iconic blue and white kunoichi outfit, but instead being covered nearly from head to toe in a full bodysuit.

Fans were also disappointed when it was discovered that there are no boob jiggle physics in the builds that Team Ninja has put on display so far. The women, however, can be bruised and bloodied, but they don’t jiggle at all!

You can see for yourself with the video below from Blue Sky Gameplay captured during EVO 2018.

The men, meanwhile, can glisten with sweat, drip fluids, and even lose their clothing during battle, as evidenced in the fight that revealed Diego and Rig.

According to Shimbori, he’s trying to reassure fans that they still have more to show and “don’t worry”, telling TwinGalaxies…

“I wasn’t surprised at all [at the feedback]. I actually expected that and I understand it as well. I expect that those worries will be gradually resolved, because we’re just showcasing the stuff that the team can [show] at this point in development. We don’t plan to do something very extreme, and I would like to tell the fans, “Don’t worry.””

So far, a lot of fans have been getting more and more disgruntled, especially as more info seems to emerge indicating that the fan-service that many of the male players enjoyed is being taken away and replaced with fan-service aimed at those who enjoy homoerotic content featuring half-naked, sweaty men.

The removal of the Soft Engine was another huge blow to the community, as it meant that the female characters would no longer bounce and jiggle with soft-body deformation physics. Shimbori had previously stated that the removal of the Soft Engine was to replace it with a new engine for better lighting.

Also with less jiggle physics in place, Shimbori stated that the less sexualized depiction of the female fighters was to match “world trends”.

Majority of the character reveals so far have also focused on the males, with only two of the revealed characters being females (e.g., Kasumi and Helena).

There was also anguish from the community when Shimbori stated that they were shrinking the female bust size to make them appear more human. And Shimbori also revealed that they were inspired by American comic books such as Marvel and DC, where the women are more covered up and show less curves in their design.

Essentially, Dead or Alive 6 seems to feature the opposite of everything that many of the core demographic actually enjoyed about the series. Some gamers have formed a petition on Change.org to bring back the sexiness, but there are reports that the individuals involved with the petition have been blocked by the social media accounts promoting Dead or Alive 6.

The 3D fighting game is due to release on PC, PS4, and Xbox One in early 2019, so they still have a few months to start revealing some kind of content to give fans a reason to be excited. Otherwise the ‘ole saying applies for Shimbori and the crew…

(Thanks for the news tip Divine Providence)