Dead or Alive 5 set for 2012

TOKYO--Team Ninja is best known for its Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive franchises, two properties that the Tecmo Koei-owned development studio has strongly supported over the years.

During its pre-Tokyo Game Show event in Tokyo today, Team Ninja announced the continuation of the Dead or Alive franchise with Dead or Alive 5. The developer showed off a brief pre-alpha version of the game and revealed it will ship in 2012 on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

During the presentation, Team Ninja also revealed more details about Ninja Gaiden 3, showing off a new trailer focusing on the "three strokes" concept first revealed at E3 this year. While the first stroke is known to represent the katana, the second stroke, revealed at tonight's event, represents consequence. The trailer detailed protagonist Ryu Hayabusa's struggle putting aside his own agenda to carry out an assignment.

The developer also showed a Ninja Gaiden 3 demo focused on the new gameplay system designed to accommodate both experienced players and those not familiar with the past Ninja Gaiden games. The system features two playing styles: ninja, which focuses on action gameplay, and hero, which focuses on story and supports auto-guard and auto-evade. The demo focused on the Ninja style and followed Hayabusa through a number of gory encounters on the streets of London (and included some particularly bloody finishing moves).

Team Ninja also revealed that Ninja Gaiden 3 will not use the same kind of dismemberment system the past games have used because the developers wanted players to feel what it's like to "cut someone down." Team Ninja didn't shy away from making the game violent because it wanted players to feel the consequence of their actions.

The concept for the online part of the game is "a world of ninjas," with an eight-player multiplayer mode that will see players challenge other ninjas in the world to become number one.

Ninja Gaiden 3 will be released in early 2012 and will feature PlayStation Move support. First unveiled at TGS 2010, Ninja Gaiden 3 will feature close-combat fighting, online multiplayer, and both cooperative and multiplayer experiences. For more on the title, check out GameSpot's most recent preview of Ninja Gaiden 3.