“Take Two has been a little more frustrated with 3D Realms because they’ve taken quite a bit longer than most. The last time anyone saw this game was in 2001. It’s now a couple of years after they told people to start thinking about it.” - cnn.com
With a couple of recent public snipes between 3D Realms and Take Two Interactive, the sad story of Duke Nukem Forever’s endless production cycle is back in the news.
posted by bruce · at 10:44 pm · filed under News
At best, 3drealms is on life support as far as DNF goes. Take two may have pushed it a bit to far, but 3drealms has itself to blame. 6+ years and counting, you’ve really got to wonder where the hell this game is going. Back in February 2003, Take Two had obviously warned 3drealms to either release it or face the consequences and what has 3drealms done? Well, on April 1, 2003, 3drealms proved itself to be the biggest laughing stock in the gaming industry by releasing an April Fool’s joke on DNF for Atari. Only 1-2 months later, Take Two had figured that it’s hopeless that DNF will ever come out this year and so they rightfully pulled the plug. The only money 3drealms has is based on the rights they sold to Max Payne and what little they got out of Duke Manhatten Project which was the worst of the Duke series.
You really do have to wonder what they are doing. Six years is a crazy time for game development. The game has been through at least two complete rewrites so far, and as many engine changes. The guys are still updating their log files, so things are still happening, but you’ve got to be realistic and say the chances of DNF coming out and being good are pretty slim.
3D Realms have lost the plot. They have probably broken every game development rule in the book plus they are putting a lot at stake. If DNF is a complete failure, they will go belly up.
I just read the official DNF faq, here’s a piece of it:
* 1.24 - With all the pressure from the publisher, is 3D Realms in trouble?
You might be referring to the public pressure (in the media) being applied by Take Two regarding the fact that DNF is not out yet… here is the one and only response:
George Broussard (May 30, 2003): "Just bear in mind that 3DR funds DNF 100% out of our own pockets. Take Two does nothing. If we didn’t have utmost confidence in our abilities and the future of the game, then why would we continue to fund it ourselves? We could easily quit, scrap it, and do some other game.
"All we want to do is keep quiet, work on the game, and emerge later and show you what we’re working on. We don’t want hype. We don’t want drama…
"But just remember, it’s our time and our money we are spending on the game. So either we’re absolutely stupid and clueless, or we believe in what we are working on. In the end, you guys will judge the final results. For now, all we want to do is keep quiet and work."
Take 2 should stop whining. The game will sell big-time, no matter if it’s good or not. It’s a must have for anyone who played Duke Nukem…
If it ever comes out… :)