DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball
topless mode, nude cheat, nude patch

The New York Times looks at a new wave of racy videogames which flaunt "aggressive sexuality, salty language and off-color sight gags," including BMX XXX and Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball. But the tightly controlled licensing system for console games will prevent gamemakers from getting too wild. "Sony had second thoughts about releasing [BMX XXX] uncut for its PlayStation 2, the most popular game console. Alan B. Lewis, the spokesman for Acclaim, said that after discussions with Sony, the game's developers removed a function that allows players to design a female biker to appear topless. In addition, a BMX logo now obscures the breasts of the real-life strippers who appear when a player wins a bonus. So far the game remains unchanged for the Xbox and the GameCube." (Dec 2003)

The April issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly reveals a hidden feature in the XBox cheesecake game Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball ("tips and tricks" section, page 142; not available online). Completing the game with certain characters in a certain timeframe unlocks "topless mode", which allows you to replay the game with those buxom anime DOA babes soaking up the sun sans bikini tops.

However, gaming message board posters at GameInfoWire and GameTalk mostly agree that the supposed "topless mode" is an April Fool's hoax perpetrated by EGM. (The magazine has a history of April issue hoaxes. Several years ago, it hyped a fake Street Fighter 2 character named Sheng Long.) But if you really want to try for yourself, several posters transcribe the method from EGM. (Mar 2003)

Debra wrote about sex in videogames last week, touching on Electronic Gaming Monthly and Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball.

Videogame company Tecmo launched a preemptive crackdown on "nude patches" for the XBox game Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball. Adopting the music industry's "treat customers like criminals" approach, Tecmo administrator recently posted a threatening message on the company's user forums: "We're watching you very closely! Please do not post things that infringe copyrights and other legal issues. So far we're tracking one suspect, anybody care to be the second? Please do not post anything about Nude Patches and other hacked information or you will be punished to the fullest extent of the law." No such patch exists for now, but several XBox hackers have been working together and sharing information to build one.

Daze reader "seb" passes along links to three DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball nude screenshots: (gone). These could be evidence that "topless mode" really works (doubtful), the result of a working "nude patch" (maybe) or good photoshop jobs (most likely). Earlier Daze items about DOA nudity here and here. (Apr 2003)

It's official: the "topless mode" in DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball was a hoax. The Electronic Gaming Monthly website is currently running a "what was our best April Fools hoax?" poll. The choices are:

• Ken you dig it?: Sheng Long in Street Fighter
• Polygon puppies: DOA Volleyball topless mode
• Tall Tails: Sonic and friend in Super Smash Bros.
• I have a humor by-pass. Shove those April Fools up yer jacksie!

Link snagged from the comments section of an earlier Daze item about topless mode, where chatsters have been (and will probably continue) hashing it out for months. (May 2003)

E3 Girls collects photos of the booth models at Electronic Entertainment Expo.

This one is from the DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball swimsuit show. (May 2003)