Despite being arguably the best looking game shown at Microsoft's pre-E3 conference last month, Dead or Alive 4 is only 15% complete according to Tecmo producer Tomonobu Itagaki.
In an interview with Japanese magazine Famitsu, Itagaki revealed that the Xbox 360 title - assumed to be in the launch line-up - is just 15% complete, with development currently nearing the end of the motion capture phase.
As well as commenting that characters will move much more realistically than in previous instalments, Itagaki mentioned he wanted to complete the motion capture stage early on in development in order to free up time to get the head-to-head online component correct.
Presumably recounting the development of previous online scrapper Dead or Alive Ultimate, Itagaki emphasised that this element takes the longest to get right.
However, with the game at just 15% completion, you have to wonder whether this instalment will be ready in time for Xbox 360's planned worldwide launch in November.
Itagaki also spoke of the content of the game, revealing that over 20 characters will feature in Dead or Alive 4, with the main character being Helena, the elegantly dressed opera singer, who made her debut in DOA2 to take revenge on her mother's murderer Ayane.
Details of some of the new characters were also revealed. Itagaki identified the Asian character practising moves on a bridge in the E3 trailer as Kokoro, a Japanese fighter who practises the Hakkyokuken, previously championed by Virtua Fighter lead Akira Yuki.
Despite acknowledging Virtua Fighter as the "origin of 3D fighting games" Itagaki says he's going to attempt to recreate the style far more realistically with Kokoro than developer AM2 has managed with Akira.
The blonde male fighter also featured in the E3 trailer has now been named as Elliot, a character who uses Keiken, a complicated fighting style that makes use of five forms of attack and twelve forms based on animals...
Finally, Itagaki briefly mentioned the new female wrestler from the trailer, but decided to keep her name secret - revealing only that she is a "good friend" of Tina (another female wrestler) and will be making use of the Mexican Lucha Libre style, which is an acrobatic adaptation of standard wrestling.
Dead or Alive 4 is expected to be released alongside Xbox 360 when it launches worldwide this November
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