「Release day: DOAX in Japan!!」
January 23, 2003 ★ DEAD OR ALIVE Xtreme Beach Volleyball finally hits shelves in Japan.
Despite freezing temperatures, rain and even snowfall across parts of Tokyo, dedicated DOA fans lined up outside Akihabara retailers from early morning hours. At Sofmap’s Amusement Building, the queue grew so long it wrapped around the whole neighboring building, forcing the store to open early & operate registers across all 7 of it’s floors to handle demand.
The game had originally been scheduled for late 2002 but was delayed for quality improvements, making the Xbox release even more exciting. After the sales lines slowly disappeared, big crowds remained for launch events, tournaments & rare promotional giveaways.
For a few hours, the excitement in Akihabara was enough to make everyone forget about the cold….