Series has been giving fans an eyeful of its characters’ bodies for years, and now they’ll get a noseful too.

Originally started as a fighting game series, developer Koei Tecmo’s Dead or Alive franchise has in recent years become more strongly associated with its Dead or Alive Xtreme beach volleyball spin-off, in which the cast of amply-endowed martial artists frolic on the sand in skimpy swimwear. It’s been a somewhat controversial transition, with detractors scoffing at the sort of lonely individuals who’d play a game just for the chance to see some simulated skin.

But in the newest iteration of Dead or Alive Xtreme, players won’t just be able to look at the bikini-clad competitors, but smell them too. Koei Tecmo is getting into the virtual reality arcade game field with its VR Sense pods, and the company has announced that one of the first games for the new hardware setup will be Dead or Alive Extreme Sense.

Details are currently limited to a trio of bullet points, which are:
● Each time you win a game, the girls’ swimsuits are upgraded!
● When you get close to the girls, you get a whiff of fragrance!?
● If you get a high score, you’ll be rewarded with “theater time.”

A variety of swimsuits and a mode that lets the player watch the characters pose on the beach are already established mainstays of the Dead or Alive Xtreme games. Aromas are a new aspect, though, and one that immediately raises a number of questions.

First, what exactly is the smell going to be? Feminine shampoo or soap seems like the scent most likely to have people thinking “girl,” but since this is still a beach volleyball game, sunblock, or perhaps even sweat, would make just as much sense, if not more. There’s also the fact that in all the Dead or Alive Xtreme games released so far, during matches the player controls one of the volleyball-playing beauties. If that same format continues in Dead or Alive Xtreme Sense, shouldn’t the player, having taken on the role of one of the girls, be subjected to the “girl” aroma constantly?

Also currently unknown is whether Dead or Alive Xtreme Sense will make use of other VR Sense functions. The pods can blast the player with hot or cold air, which could be used to great effect as stand-ins for the summer sunshine or a cool ocean breeze. The splashing of the waves or beads of sweat could also be recreated with the pod’s mist function.

But perhaps the most important question is whether or not fans will come to arcades to play a game with titillation as its primary selling point. Granted, adult-oriented VR events have been held before in Japan. However, as gatherings specifically catering to VR and pornography enthusiasts, the atmosphere is likely less judgmental than a regular arcade, where those interested in staring at/sniffing the Dead or Alive girls would have to walk past all the customers just trying to snap sticker pictures with their friends or win a Pikachu plushie from the UFO catcher. And it’s not just pre-play that presents potential problems. Will hardcore fans run the risk of running out of time and having to vacate the pod while still having…visible signs of their below-belt excitement?

The answers to these questions will have to wait until the VR Sense hardware starts showing up in Japanese arcades later this summer.

Source: Koei Tecmo via Jin
Top image: Koei Tecmo