DOA Ultimate dated again

Xbox exclusive Dead or Alive Ultimate will ship in Japan on October 7th, priced 9,240 yen (€69 / £46), developer Tecmo has announced. As well as the game, anybody pre-ordering the online-enabled beat-'em-up remake package will also earn themselves a poster and figurine of Kasumi, as well as a PC CD-ROM entitled Digital Venus 2004, featuring voice and visuals from various Dead or Alive characters. You can see what that will look like courtesy of The Magic Box here.

Despite the new pre-order incentive though, the October date still sees the game slipping further away from the late summer estimate proffered earlier in the year, and it's not clear at this point whether Tecmo still intends to stick with its plan for a simultaneous worldwide release, which it mentioned in a press release in early March this year.

It is clear however that anybody stumping up for DOA Ultimate in Japan is set for a round of decent freebies. As you may recall, one previously announced promotion was a Kasumi-coloured blue Xbox bundle, featuring a semi-transparent blue console and controller, a copy of the game, DVD and Live kits, and a life-size Kasumi-emblazoned cushion. Which presumably cuts out the middleman whenever you lose and feel like thumping the furniture. We can't wait.

For more on DOA Ultimate, head here for coverage of the game's announcement and here for screenshots.