$500,000 offered to finish Duke Nukem Forever this year [update 3]

by Ross Miller { Jun 10th 2006 at 3:55PM }

In an SEC filing, Take-Two brought up a rather sore (yet infamous) subject: Duke Nukem Forever. The uber-delayed project, in development since 1997 (remember 1997? Titanic won an Oscar) has been given some incentive to complete and release the game by December 31, 2006 -- $500,000 worth of incentive. While it may not seem like much (most commercial video games have multimillion dollar budgets), ~~3D Realms is currently being offered $4.25 million from Take-Two for the title's eventual release, down from the $6 million promised in their original -- apparently lapsed -- deal.~~ See update 3 for the skinny on this mess.

Does this mean we'll see Duke before 2007? Doubtful, but we could be wrong ...

[update 1: where there was confusion, there is now clarity]

[update 2: silly Gamespot, the actual SEC filing says dollar amounts are listed in thousands, so their figure of $4,250 is off by a factor of, you guessed it, one thousand. With the $500,000 promissory, that means 3D Realms can still collect nearly 80% of their original contract ... if they manage to finish this thing. Thanks, nonpareil.)

[update 3: newish games blog Metafuture has gotten to the bottom of this little mess. It wasn't just the figure that we had wrong, it was the payee as well. Indeed, Gamasutra reported on this over two months ago writing:

"One other notable payment was the renegotiation of a $6 million charge due [to former publisher GT Interactive, now owned by Atari] upon delivery of the final PC version of Duke Nukem Forever back in March 2005. The epic delay of 3D Realms' shooter has meant that $4.25 million of the final milestone payment has already been paid, alongside the promise of a final $500,000 upon the commercial release of Duke Nukem Forever prior to December 31, 2006."

So the $4.25 million has already been paid to Atari and the $500,000 is being offered to Atari and not 3D Realms. Got it? I think we do now. Apologies for the confusion.]

Tags: 3D Realms, 3dRealms, DNF, Duke Nukem Forever, DukeNukemForever, vaporware

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

SuiXide @ Jun 10th 2006 4:12PM

...so they're asking someone to make DNF a crappy game for 500 grand? Mmkay.

Seriously, go play Duke Nukem 3D. It was a great game for its time, but by today's standards the cheesy one liners and blatant objectifcation of women wouldn't get any more than a few half-hearted reviews.

lwelyk @ Jun 10th 2006 4:12PM

I still don't think it will ever happen.

Insomnia Bob @ Jun 10th 2006 4:14PM

At this point, seriously, screw duke nukem.
Duke 3D was a pretty cool game, sure. It offered 'immersive' things like being able to turn on water fountains, tip strippers, and see yourself in a mirror.

That was LOOOOONG time ago. Any cred the Duke Series had built up has long since been spoiled by some really bad third person action titles.

At this point, even if they managed to release it, by the end of the year or not, it would have to rival Half Life 2 in depth, scope, and quality to be considered anything but a joke.

And even then, I'm not sure it could overcome that.
If Duke Nukem Forever comes out for...I dunno. $20, has a decent physics engine, and 10+ hours of gameplay, I MIGHT buy it. Maybe.

Gabriel @ Jun 10th 2006 4:16PM

From the article: "Take-Two is currently only being offered $4,250 from Take-Two"

Wait. So they're... paying themselves?

Hewie @ Jun 10th 2006 4:16PM

Harr. The thought of DNF coming out still puts me in stitches.

Stukodokka @ Jun 10th 2006 4:18PM

"Take-Two is currently only being offered $4,250 from Take-Two for the title's eventual release."

That would be 3D Realms, and it is $4.25 million instead of 4.250.

Jay @ Jun 10th 2006 4:26PM

I lost respect for Apogee/3D Realms when I found out they ripped graphics from Turrican. I don't care what they do now. bloody theives.

http://www.nemmelheim.de/turrican/news/duke/

Hewie @ Jun 10th 2006 4:26PM

I say they completely scratch the title, take the $500,000 and make a new DN game: Duke Nukem Fever, with optional dance-mat.

Faar @ Jun 10th 2006 4:29PM

Maybe 3DRealms should put Duke up on Steam instead as another episodic title. If they got a couple early levels finished now (who knows? It's only been like nine years, the thought isn't ENTIRELY prepostrous), they should be able to have the rest of the game finished/released by the end of the decade, maybe...

I still remember Broussard slamming Ion Storm and Daikatana, stating in firm words what a shambles the development of THAT title was, and that his game would never suffer the same fate... Well, from what we've witnessed here, Daikatana might have been a miracle of well-engineered software development! But I'm sure George's heard that joke already... :) Hell, by now he must have heard ALL of them.

Nin10dude @ Jun 10th 2006 4:30PM

Mother 3 took longer to develop (eleven years--DNF's been in development for nine), had two cancellations, two platform changes (if you count N64DD to N64 as one), and even a change from 2D to 3D, and was released. DNF can still come out.

CV_Otaku @ Jun 10th 2006 7:43PM

It better not come out. What will people joke about on the internet?

Come on! Those jokes NEVER get old!

kyou @ Jun 10th 2006 7:56PM

Yeah, seriously. Duke Nukem Forever is a LEGEND! They would just ruin it by actually releasing it.

Dave @ Jun 10th 2006 8:26PM

Sorry guys. I heard that Duke Nukem actually retired this morning. I guess they're going to have to cancel the project.

Duke Nukem Retires, Collects Social Security
http://thefunion.blogspot.com/2006/06/duke-nukem-retires-collects-social.html

nonpareil @ Jun 10th 2006 8:33PM

Um, that's 4.25 MILLION down from 6 million. Try and actually *read* the filing before you [mis]report crucial data. Jeez.

nonpareil @ Jun 10th 2006 8:36PM

And before you're up in arms, simply *read* the SEC filing:

TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES

Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)

I guess that's what you get when you have video game bloggers trying to make sense of SEC filings.

C. Grant @ Jun 10th 2006 10:54PM

Thanks nonpareil, we just went off Gamespot's numbers. They're usually pretty thorough about this sort of thing.

"I guess that's what you get when you have video game bloggers trying to make sense of SEC filings."

What you get is transparency and culpability. The post has been updated. :)

LaughingMan @ Jun 11th 2006 1:25AM

Does anyone remember what they liked about Duke Nukem to begin with? At this point, it's some hazy, unfocused memory- like trying to remember that one guy who was in your high school. Big franchise titles like Nintendo's can still push a sequel 10 years later, but there's no way DN was that. I'm curious to who Take Two is making these annoucments to- it's like VU games announcing "We've just hired a lead programmer for 'Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter 2"

We.Have.Moved.On. Sorry.

Kent Houseman @ Jun 11th 2006 3:32AM

Mother 3 isn't competiting with anyone. Mother 3 is it's own thing. The graphics for Earthbound on the SNES were not good (I don't care what you fanboys think) but the game was great.

Mother 3 WAS going to be 3d but I don't think 3d was as expensive to develop for then as it is now. Plus, making the game look on par with everything else 3d (I doubt they cared, the designer's always did their own thing with EB) would be a lot easier then as it is now.

If these guys want a shot they will need to hire some talented people out of school and some talented people away from other companies.

Didn't the showcase a 3d game at last year's E3? They may be going in the right direction.

Merus @ Jun 11th 2006 6:19AM

Hell, even 3D Realms knows that if they ever release Duke Nukem Forever, no-one's going to give a crap. They'd be much better served to ditch Duke and try and start a new franchise - ten years kicking around in development generally means that way way way too many ideas have collected and the game needs pruning. Duke's probably the best thing to ditch.

the_game_master @ Jun 11th 2006 9:02AM

Duke Nukem Forever is dead.

and don't be surprised if a scandal breaks loose and goverment investigation of investor fraud happens between 3DRealms and its publisher TakeTwo.

Millions of dollars bumped into vaporware,

this ought to be the next biggest scandal to hit videogames since.

Infinium Labs
&
Makers of the Gizmondo

Mr Ed @ Jun 11th 2006 10:20AM

Eccentric gamer Gazbin III, has reportedly offered to increase the financial incentive put forward by publisher Take Two.

Gazbin III, will personally fund an additional $500,000 (West African Cedis) to 3D Realms should Duke Nukem Forever be released before his next Christmas shopping spree.

Greg2k @ Jun 11th 2006 11:12AM

Nobody who's been a real fan of Duke Nukem 3D can just drop the idea of playing the sequel. If Forever comes out, I'm first in line to get it, and I just don't care how long it took, or how much it can cost, or how much I have to upgrade my shitty computer to play it.

In the words of a young Hobbit: I'M GETTIN' ONE!!

Mr. Kennedy @ Jun 11th 2006 12:47PM

I think I preordered this back in the day...

Tramain C. @ Jun 11th 2006 4:23PM

Duke was and still is awsome. killing those monsters and seeing them "break dance"(a glitch) still crack me up till this day! and blowing up those critters and seeing blood guts and ass fly every where!!!

nojok3 @ Jun 11th 2006 4:41PM

DNF will always be DNF (Did Not Finish)

Hart704 @ Jun 11th 2006 9:20PM

Duke Nukem Forever with a date? Now that's comedy!

splash @ Jun 12th 2006 1:16AM

There really is no point in completing this game. By the time it is released, anyone who cared will likely have moved on. A new generation will have never heard of Duke Nukem. And even if it is released, which would be a mistake, it'll never live up to the expectation from having been in development for so long. It may be doomed to be a disappointment

If I were the developer, I'd cut my losses and move on to something else.

32_Footsteps @ Jun 12th 2006 9:42AM

You know, given how long it's been in development, I wonder how much they'd have to charge per copy to make a profit assuming a realistic sales projection? Or, conversely, how many copies they'd have to sell at $50 a pop to pull a profit? Those numbers would be highly edifying.

Thermo @ Jun 23rd 2006 2:42AM

I still think it will surface, and possibly even better than most think! I mean who ever thought Prey would see the light of day?! It was a cover feature back in the mid/late 90's, then the project was killed and now not only has it come to light, but people seem kind of psyched for it! DNF just frustrates to crap out of people because we all loved Duke 3D so much and we want more beyond the plutonium pak! we've become spolied brats with new versions of games rolling out within a year of the last version! Granted, 10 years is a long ass time to wait, heck in that time I've lived in almost a dozen places, I was married, divorced, banged a dozen or so new chicks, owned a few pets, had the life sucked out of me by a demon woman, started 1/2 a dozen companies, saw millions pass through my hands, had to file for bankruptcy and on and on and on... Hmmmm come to think of it much time has passed, I'm so dissconected from Duke that I hardly even care if it comes out in my lifetime. But his sprirt must live on! Maybe in the years ahead i'll have kids, evetually my kids will have kids, and then my grandchildren can enyoy some Duke play?! By then the excitment for the release will be great because all of these little kids will want to play this game that their grandparents talked about! Long live DNF 2056!