DOA fans must now wait an extra month before getting their hands on the long-awaited Dead or Alive Xtreme 3.

Nine years have passed since the 360-exclusive release of Dead or Alive Xtreme 2. What started as a Microsoft-exclusive volleyball spin-off to Team Ninja’s fighting game franchise, DOA Xtreme expanded to feature additional summer sports and poolside activities. A third installment was announced last year during Team Ninja’s and Koei Tecmo’s DOAFest event, however its release will remain exclusive to Japanese and southeast Asian audiences, despite having English subtitles.

Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 will be the first game in the side-series to release exclusively for Sony consoles, with alternate versions coming to the PS4 and PS Vita. The roster of nine characters were chosen through a Japan-exclusive fan poll, with newcomer Marie Rose being the top choice among Japanese fans. First shown within DOA5: Last Round, DOAX3 is developed through Team Ninja’s “Soft Engine 2.0”, capable of rendering real-time skin-tone effects (tanning, dirt, water, etc.) and enhanced breast-deformation physics; the Vita release will feature the same visuals through a less powerful build of the Soft Engine- “Soft Engine Lite”.

Both DOAX3 Fortune (PS4) and DOAX3 Venus (Vita) were originally planned for a 2/25 release in Japan, however publisher Koei Tecmo announced through the latest issue of Famitsu that the release date has been delayed into late March. The publisher has not given an official explanation for the delay, however the PS4 and PS Vita versions will now release on Mar. 24 in Japan.

Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 Fortune and Venus are available to pre-order through various online retailers, including Play-Asia and AmiAmi.

Source: Famitsu (via Esuteru)
Image courtesy of Team Ninja, Koei Tecmo