As I've said many times before Dead Or Alive has Gameplay Mechanics that are just as deep as Virtua Fighter and Tekken ever since the first game in 1996 and it doesn't need to remove it's Sex Appeal in order to prove that.
Just like Mortal Kombat doesn't need to remove Gore in order to prove that it has deep Gameplay Mechanics when it always have that ever since Mortal Kombat 1 when it introduced the Juggle Combo System.
You got Arcana Heart a Fighting Game with Lolicons and it's bein' played seriously in Tournaments especially in Japan. The Arcana Heart Players enjoy and embrace the Series for what it is while still bein' competitive.
You also got Melty Blood a Fighting Game straight out of the Type Moon Visual Novel Tsukihime and it's bein' enjoyed and embraced for what it is while still bein' played competitively especially in Japan.
The point is you can have a Fighting Game like Dead Or Alive that has Sexy Female Characters and Deep Gameplay Mechanics. The two aren't mutually exclusive. And they shouldn't be either.
This is why I think it's best to support the Tournament Scenes in Asia, Africa, Latin America, South America, etc cause the Players in those countries enjoy and embrace the games for what they are while still bein' competitive.
ひげ
@Oaghaji dead or alive is my favorite fighter right behind soul calibur. It feels really good to play.
You also have Samurai Spirits aka Samurai Shodown bein' enjoyed and embraced for what it is while still bein' played competitively in Asia, Africa, Latin America, South America, etc.