January 15^th, 2004 (12:00am) - Team Ninja’s Dead or Alive Online, the package of the original Sega Saturn Dead or Alive and a completely revamped version of its sequel for the Sega Dreamcast, has gone under a slight name change from the guys at Team Ninja and Tecmo. The Xbox Live multi-player compatible fighter, which in its Xbox form utilizes the graphics engine of Team Ninja’s previous Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball game, will now go by the name of Dead or Alive Ultimate.

"We feel that Dead or Alive Online has evolved into something bigger than what it started out as and with these additions and advancements came a need for us to change the name to represent this progression. Dead or Alive Online only signifies a portion of this game while the new name, Dead or Alive Ultimate, describes more accurately what fans will experience when they buy this game," Tony Tarpey, Tecmo’s Marketing Manager, said.

"This is like a dream come true for the fans who can now play the entire DOA series on Xbox," Tomonobu Itagaki, Creator of the Dead or Alive series, said. "The Saturn version of Dead or Alive was sold only in Japan so this will be the first time it will be released in North America while DOA2 has been completely rebuilt using the latest graphics engine from Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, ultimately making DOA2 better than our own DOA3. With the new costumes and the expansion of fighting arenas, it’s reborn as a brand new game."

Team Ninja’s main vision in the creation of Dead or Alive Ultimate is to form an online community that DOA fans from around the world will be able to join and play. "Starting with Dead or Alive Ultimate all future titles will have the online feature," Itagaki said. "This community formed by the Dead or Alive fans on the network will be called Dead or Alive Online."

A multiple assortment of special features will also be included in the collection. These include an assortment of new costumes, many new battle stages and interactive environments, a new opening movie, unique 2-disc set packaging with inclusion of collectible trading cards, and a bonus feature, information on which will be revealed at a later time.

"For those fans eagerly anticipating the next game in the DOA series, Dead or Alive Ultimate is that game," Tarpey said. "With loads of additional content, technologically advanced online capabilities, and special collectors’ packaging, Dead or Alive Ultimate is a whole new DOA experience."