of a pink headband and a denim jacket, but she had no dialogue while her personality was given to Dead or Alive 4 protagonist Helena Douglas. Hitomi also appeared in the Ninja Gaiden series' smartphone action card game Hyakuman-nin no Ninja Gaiden (in a ninja version with a sword) in 2013 and her card was included in Sega's Samurai & Dragons game that same year. Merchandise and promotion Like the games' other female characters, Hitomi has been featured on an extensive range of merchandise, such as the Dead or Alive 3 Arcade Stick by Hori, multiple figurines, statuettes and action figures of various types and scales, with many of these items capitalizing on her sex appeal. She appeared in the Bijin Tokei iPhone digital clock app and a Dead or Alive voice clock. Banpresto produced a mug in 2007 emblazoned with her likeness and accented with three-dimensional breasts. Other items included body towels, dakimakura body pillowcases, "swimsuit" wall posters, and mousepads with three-dimensional renditions of the character's breasts serving as wrist rests. In 2007, Koei Tecmo featured Hitomi and Kasumi on limited-edition credit cards available exclusively in Japan to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the franchise. An officially licensed hoodie with Hitomi's Dead or Alive 5 design was made available in 2012. Hitomi was the lone playable character in the beta version of Dead or Alive Online and one of four playable characters in a demo of Dead or Alive 5 released with Ninja Gaiden 3 in 2012. GameStop included an exclusive "bunny bikini" costume for Hitomi with pre-orders of the game. An update to Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate: Core Fighters made Hitomi a free playable character between December 2013 and January 2014; she is otherwise available for purchase through a microtransaction. Hitomi is one of the four initial playable characters in the Core Fighters version of Dead or Alive 6. Reception Hitomi has been a fan-favorite character since her introduction in 2001. She was voted the Dead or Alive series' fifth-most popular character in an online fan poll held by Koei Tecmo in 2014, and placed seventh in the same poll in 2015. Bryan Johnson of GameSpy collectively placed the series' female characters second in his 2003 ranking of the "top ten babes in games," illustrated with a render of Hitomi in a bikini. "Sex sells, and Tecmo was ready and willing to ... sell the idea of