Dead or Alive 3 is a fighting game in the Dead or Alive series. It was released exclusively on the Xbox as a launch title. The basic gameplay controls remain essentially unchanged from Dead or Alive 2. Some minor tweaks have been added to the game system in the form of increased counter periods, unrestricted 3D-axis movement, and less emphasis on juggling combos. All these gameplay enhancements make the game a bit suited for beginners, and makes the artificial intelligence a bit more forgiving. Some attack commands for characters are updated. The game incorporated less damage percentiles in counter maneuvers, and added four new characters to the roster. The game adds a new feature in its Sparring called Exercise, where players can practice character moves while commands are displayed at the same time. The tag team system, introduced in the previous game, was also updated. Tag Battle was made available during the game's Time Attack and Survival modes. A new feature called Attack Change was added, allowing the character tagging in to attack while switching in. The Tag Throws command was made a bit easier to activate. By default, the game utilizes the Xbox controller's analog face buttons, making the controls lenient to allow players new to the series to adapt to gameplay, players have the option to turn the analog buttons on or off. As with previous entries in the series, it took advantage of the Xbox system's power to push the range of the graphics and stage sizes farther than Dead or Alive 2.
