The creator of Dead or Alive, Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki, has revealed that he is working on the next installment of the lady-jammed beat-'em-up, Dead or Alive 5, while speaking at a recent DOA event.

Itagaki wasn't giving anything away, though, merely hinting that he's already been racking his brain to come up with new ideas for his next adventure in exquisitely detailed lady fighting (and man-bashing, of course). During the event, Itagaki suggested that tag battles are being axed from the game.

Above: Hopefully the sequel will look even better than the last installment. Don't worry, this guy's about to stare in the face of karma by way of oncoming traffic.

We reckon it's an easy bet that Dead or Alive 5 will gravitate towards Microsoft's Xbox 360, though that's not a guarantee. Historically, the series has bounded immediately toward the most powerful given system at any given time, be it Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Xbox or 360. So it's entirely possible that the series could start flirting with the latest hotness, PlayStation 3. Whatever its platform of choice, there's no word on when we can expect to see Dead or Alive 5  bounce into action.

November 21, 2006