Summary
- Fanservice is key trademark of the Dead or Alive fighting game franchise.
- That said, if you push things too far, then Koei Tecmo will have no choice but to step in.
- In speaking at a copyright conference, a Koei Tecmo representative discussed taking down artwork and fanmade stories due to them being altered for “adult purposes.”
Since its inception in 1996, the Dead or Alive franchise has been just as much about its fighting game roots as it has been about the huge amount of fan service and sex appeal that its cast displays. The term “jiggle physics” largely originates with the franchise, with Koei Tecmo vowing in 2018 to tone things down.
If you need any further proof, then a cursory ESRB search of any Dead or Alive game will almost assuredly have “Sexual Themes” and “Partial Nudity” at the top of the list, with descriptions involving “compromising positions” and “revealing” attire.
That said, for as committed to the bit as Koei Tecmo is, the company is also seemingly very protective of its IP. Speaking at a copyright conference, Tomotoshi Nishimura, general manager of Koei Tecmo’s legal affairs department, went as far as to call the characters “like daughters.”
DOA Also Represents The Art Koei Tecmo Will Kill
As first reported by GameWatch and as transcribed by Automaton, Koei Tecmo doesn’t necessarily have a problem with fans repurposing artwork of the Dead or Alive cast. However, when things cross the line, the company has and will continue to step in.
Per Nishimura, Koei Tecmo has taken down between 200 and 300 pieces of Doujinshi, or fan-made stories. That’s on top of an estimated 3,000 pieces of fanart shared online and on websites that it deems as “inappropriate.” Some of those takedowns have to do with copyright infringement, but a large portion are based around “altering characters for adult purposes,” which can be damaging.
Nishimura affirmed that Koei Tecmo views the Dead or Alive cast as “like daughters,” which is why they’re forced to seemingly protect them. Taking down damaging content isn’t a particularly new concept, however, how Koei Tecmo views the characters it created certainly is. There’s a good chance that something is lost in translation. However, the general gist of it still stands. If you can’t behave yourself, then the company will take action, even if it seemingly is the reason why such fanart would even exist in the first place.
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