Devs Admit Dead or Alive 6 Hair Color Microtransactions Were A Mistake

The fighting game franchise "Dead or Alive" was once a respected series that released many entries into the fighting genre of gaming that were serious contenders in the industry. While not totally not respected today, DOA has become nearly synonymous with having heavy doses of microtransactions or DLC.

DoA features a cast of memorable characters and a fighting style as a 3D fighter that helped set the bar for 3D fighting games today.
This sub-genre if you will, is still a major part of the fighting game scene but has a style that is somewhat opposed to the healthy other side of the fighting genre, with titles like 2D fighters like Street Fighter II, Guilty Gear, or BlazBlue.

Dead or Alive 5 specifically set an actual record for its absurdly high list of DLC, and it was considered for some years by the developers themselves that DoA5 would either be their last game, or the last for a while due to the long years of work they put in developing a titanic number of DLC.

It seems the developer's addiction to DLC and now microtransactions have only gotten worse, as the PS4 version of Dead or Alive 6 (released last year) created even more reasons to reach into your bank account- now to simply change a fighter's hair color.

Its a really roundabout process too. One must purchase a "premium ticket" for a dollar, then use it to change a character's hair color. Don't think it fits and want to change it back? Time to pay up some more.

Many fans have reached out to Tecmo Koei to let them know how they feel about this absurdity and they have responded a little, like with this tweet:

#DEADORALIVE6 #DOA6 pic.twitter.com/a6IvwCHRe2
— Official DEAD OR ALIVE Fighting Game (@DOATEC_OFFICIAL) March 7, 2020

Not really sure how it'll be fixed, but it does seem like the ball is rolling.

Microtransactions are pretty out of control these days, and unfortunately have invaded console gaming beyond mobile origins and far beyond that of just regular DLC.

Many have mixed thoughts about just how out of control microtransactions are, with many whales and others happy to flex how much they've spent- which feeds the problems by showing developers that schemes like this one will work. That is, unless enough people stop using microtransactions like these, and complain. Maybe.

Many despise gaming's decline into a microtransaction nightmare of half-made games and Games As A Service models, where you receive a product many feel should include everything the game should have upon purchase of the game, some going far enough to boycott titles they'd normally play or support.

Personally I support content heavy or story-driven DLCs, games that have a few character DLCs, maybe a few costumes or music DLCs. But these little microtransactions, and things like big packs of coins or energy in mobile games?

No way.

I feel like Dead or Alive 6 could have at least put a big pack of hair colors together and made them a pack for all characters for one DLC or microtransaction.

Overall, I still support Dead or Alive 6, and this isn't a feature that ruins it for me, but it doesn't make me happy to see. This game needs support, but it doesn't need players supporting features like these. I'm happy to see players supporting by voicing their concerns and I'm happy to see the devs listening at some level.
This situation so far does give me some minor hope that if we support games with microtransactions and work together to raise concerns over the really bad ones, that that support will go towards making positive changes regarding bad or rampant microtransactions in gaming at least.

Unfortunately at this point it does look like microtransactions are here to stay for the foreseeable future, but its going to take small movements like this and publishers or devs who listen, to guide and protect whatever could be in question from ridiculousness like Dead or Alive character hair color microtransactions, and things like the now old but infamous Elder Scrolls Oblivion horse armor DLCs.

What are your thoughts on the Dead or Alive 6 hair color microtransactions, or microtransactions in general? Let us know down below in the comments!

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