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Dead or Alive

FightingArcade

Overview

Dead or Alive is a 1996 fighting game developed and published by Tecmo for arcades. It is the first entry in the Dead or Alive series. Built on the Sega Model 2 hardware, it was released first in arcades in 1996, followed by home ports for the Sega Saturn in Japan during 1997, and for the PlayStation in all regions during 1998.

Developed by Tecmo's in-house Team Ninja (known as Tecmo Creative #3 at the time), led by Tomonobu Itagaki, Dead or Alive capitalized on the success of Sega's Virtua Fighter series at the time and takes influence from it while adding unique gameplay elements of its own. Dead or Alive was well-praised for its fighting system and advanced graphics. The game also attracted attention for its presentation, which was more provocative than other mainstream 3D fighting games at the time.

Dead or Alive was a commercial success, helping Tecmo overcome their financial problems and turn the series into a franchise, including several sequels and numerous spin-offs. An enhanced version of the original game was included in Dead or Alive Ultimate for Xbox in 2004. In Japan, the game was released on PlayStation Network in 2008. The game was followed by its first sequel, Dead or Alive 2 in 1999.