XBOX-HQ.COM - Itagaki Talks DOA4 Demo on Live

Dead or Alive demo will finally find a home on Marketplace.

A Dead or Alive 4 demo six months after release? Apparently, so. The demo is coming to Xbox Live in the very near future and we sat down with TeamNINJA's Tomonobu Itagaki to talk about why now is the right time for the demo to hit the Marketplace. 1UP: It's unconventional for a publisher to release a demo of a game that has already been out for six months. What prompted this? Is it to let the bigger installed base try a game they may have overlooked in favor of newer titles?

Tomonobu Itagaki: That's exactly right. TeamNINJA would like as many potential players as possible to get their hands on the game and try it out.

1UP: What will the demo consist of and contain?

TI: There will be two modes playable in this demo: Versus Mode and Time Attack Mode. Both of these modes will feature Single Battle and Tag Battle as playable game types. I chose 5 of my favorite stages to be included in the demo; none of these stages have lost their visual brilliance, even 6 months since the game's release, and they all feature playability that can be enjoyed by anyone. There are 6 characters useable in the demo. First of all, I have of course included the eternal heroine, Kasumi, as well as everyone's favorite Super Ninja, Ryu Hayabusa. For the other 4, I chose characters that I felt beginners would find interesting right away: Lisa, Tina, Brad Wong, and Eliot.

1UP: How big will the demo be, size-wise? Should people start clearing off their harddrives now?

TI: The DOA4 demo is 685 megabytes in size. I guess that's pretty big, isn't it?

1UP: Besides getting new players interested in DOA4, is Team NINJA considering any new downloads or add-on features for people who already own the game?

TI: Hmmm, well I know that all you guys are eagerly awaiting such news, but to be perfectly honest with you I am completely focused on DOAX2 at the moment, and I don't have any spare time to create downloadable content.

1UP: Now that the technology for Xbox Live has settled down a bit, have you guys tweaked the online code so that matches run even smoother now?

TI: We haven't done anything to DOA4's online code since the March update. We already had everything tweaked to the best of our ability at that point in time.

1UP: Is there anything you'd like to do with the Houses and other online features, or are you happy with them the way they are?

TI: Well, we will be adding new Houses to DOAX2, so please look forward to those. Just remember, the Houses are like a kind of joke, so please guys don't get mad when you see them! (laughs).

1UP: Have you seen any interesting patterns emerge through online play that you either approve or disapprove of, whether its a tendency to use one character, or some savvy kid who found an exploit to boost his ranking?

TI: I still occasionally join matches on Xbox Live incognito from time to time, and I have to say it is a very valuable experience to be able to listen to players discussing the merits of various aspects of the game. The strangest player I have had the pleasure of meeting online was a guy who only used the move "Raijin," Hayate's high-damage throw technique. I was the one who chose the command inputs used to perform that move, but I never imagined I would meet a player who is able to pull it off 100% of the time. By the way, allow me to tell you how the command input sequence for "Raijin" came into being. This should be easy to understand if you visualize the commands in your head; that attack represents an action in the shape of a cross, four diagonal cross-cuts that slice the opponent into pieces. In other words, it means to kill your opponent.

1UP: If you're going after the late-adopter, which might consist of more casual gamers, do you think they're ready for how hardcore DOA4 is?

TI: Is DOA4 really that hardcore? The elementary school kids that come to my house to play are always squealing with laughter as they kick the ass of the final boss, Alpha 152S. At any rate, please download and play the game. After all, games are for fun!

1UP: You've said that you want DOA4 to be your last fighting game. Do you stand by this or have you gotten the itch to make another chapter?

TI: When I play DOA4 online simply as a gamer in my own right, I occasionally have times when I think I should have done something differently. However, I still feel like I want to keep playing DOA4 for quite a while yet. At the moment, I am making several other games; after I have brought those to completion I will be more ready to talk about the future of Kasumi and company.

News-Source: www.1up.com