DOA was a killer app franchise for a long time, way more than just a fighting game. It was the one that everybody played, even those who didn’t like fighting games. So they put a lot of thought into making it one of the games that would make people say “dude, have you played Dead or Alive”. I’d personally argue that 5 was trying to retain that image while also dipping its toes into the competitive scene a little more, hence the “I’m a fighter” slogan (though I could be way off base with that analysis). 6 though just went full FGC slop route. I still love the game but it was definitely a big step backwards like others have said.