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Apogee Software Returns, Brings Duke Nukem to Handhelds

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the and-they-want-braaaaaiiiiiinnnnnnsssss dept.

In a surprise move, it appears that Apogee Software has returned to action. As their first move, they are promising to bring Duke Nukem to the handheld market. "Apogee is bringing the King of Action himself, Duke Nukem, to the handheld console market with three new missions, together called the Duke Nukem Trilogy. Apogee Software is producing the Trilogy under an exclusive license agreement with 3D Realms and MachineWorks Northwest LLC. The Trilogy is comprised of three episodes: Critical Mass, Chain Reaction, and Proving Grounds. 'This marks a new beginning for a famous publisher with a history of market-making innovation,' said Terry Nagy, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Apogee. 'I can't think of a better character than Duke or a better franchise than the Trilogy to usher in a new era for Apogee.'"

50 comments

  1. Now the question is... by KDR_11k · · Score: 2, Interesting

    What will come out first, these Duke Nukem games or Forever? And will we get new Commander Keen games?

    --
    Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    1. Re:Now the question is... by Cathoderoytube · · Score: 1

      I doubt it. I imagine they probably gave the studios they farmed the games out to production deadlines, so they'll be shipped well before we ever see Duke Nukem Forever.

      And yeah it'd be awesome to see some new Commander Keen games.

      --
      I have nothing compelling to say
    2. Re:Now the question is... by Hatta · · Score: 1

      The article is a little short on details. Are these going to be 2d action platformers like the original Duke Nukem, or an FPS like Duke 3d?

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    3. Re:Now the question is... by maglor_83 · · Score: 1

      What will come out first, these Duke Nukem games or Forever?

      Well there's not really any question about that.

    4. Re:Now the question is... by twazzock · · Score: 1

      It would be nice to see a new Commander Keen game, but it probably won't come from Apogee, or 3D realms for that matter. Last I checked it's still the IP of id software, which developed the original Keen games. Apogee was just one of the publishers of the games. Also, the games were designed by Tom Hall, who left id ages ago (actually, he worked for 3D realms for a while), but now works at KingsIsle Entertainment.

    5. Re:Now the question is... by The+Gaytriot · · Score: 1

      That's what I'm wondering. I'd much prefer an fps, even if the graphics are akin to duke3d so it will run well on handhelds.

      --
      Srsly u guys. U guys, srsly.
  2. Will it follow their old marketing model? by A+Name+Similar+to+Di · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I used to love the fact that the first game in every Apogee trilogy was a shareware title, and after I got a good feel for the game I could decide to buy the next two in the series.

    1. Re:Will it follow their old marketing model? by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      I had an online conversation with George Broussard quite a few years back on Planet Crap (is that site still around?) about the skueaky 2d side scroller and its sequels. George told me there were 30,000 copies of the oringinal shareware title sold. So you and I are two of those 30k. I wonder why shareware died? It was a viable business model!

      My daughter Leila (with two eyes, neither one in the middle of her forehead, and name spelled literately) will surely get this game for her handheld when it comes out. My daughter Patty will be selling them (she manages a GameStop) and will surely get copies for her and her sister. We all loved the Duke, the kids played DN since they were little.

      I also wonder if you'll get to shoot the Energiser Bunny in the handheld games?

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
  3. But.. by Blice · · Score: 2, Funny

    Will it play on the handheld GNU/HERD port?

    No seriously you guys, I can't wait.

  4. It's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum... by loteck · · Score: 5, Funny

    and I'm all out of catchphrases.

    1. Re:It's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum... by jd · · Score: 3, Funny

      Given the speed of ultra-low-power handhelds, we could be seeing the first release of Duke Nukem Takes Forever.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    2. Re:It's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum... by maglor_83 · · Score: 1

      Given the speed of ultra-low-power handhelds, we could be seeing the first release of Duke Nukem Takes Forever.

      What? You mean like faster than the PCs that were around when the other Duke Nukems were released?

  5. Shareware on handhelds? by tepples · · Score: 1

    I used to love the fact that the first game in every Apogee trilogy was a shareware title, and after I got a good feel for the game I could decide to buy the next two in the series.

    The article said "handhelds". Which handhelds have shareware, other than perhaps Pocket PC?

    1. Re:Shareware on handhelds? by A+Name+Similar+to+Di · · Score: 1

      You know, I read it and kept thinking mobile phones rather than handhelds. You're right, it won't happen.

    2. Re:Shareware on handhelds? by _xeno_ · · Score: 4, Informative

      The article said "handhelds". Which handhelds have shareware, other than perhaps Pocket PC?

      The PSP does. Sort of. The PSP can download games from the PlayStation store, and these can be free demos if the publisher allows it. Due to DRM, you can't share them, so they're not exactly shareware. This requires either a PC or a PS3, unless the built-in PSP browser has been fixed since the last time I tried to download a demo through it.

      The DS also allows Download Play which can be used to access demos, although this is even less like shareware since you can't keep these downloads once the device powers off. This restriction is because the demos are downloaded into RAM and not any sort of permanent storage. This means that the demo has even less memory available to it than it otherwise would, so not all games can really have demos made for them.

      Downloading DS titles requires either a Wii through the free Nintendo Channel, or a Download Station that most stores that sell DS games have.

      So yes, modern handhelds do allow free demos. Sort of. It's not quite the same thing as shareware, but hey, a free downloadable demo is better than nothing.

      I should also mention that most of these demos aren't quite the full episode that old Apogee shareware games were. But on the PSP at least, it's theoretically possible to release a single episode as a free download. Not so much on the DS.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
    3. Re:Shareware on handhelds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      words

      Here, let me summarize that post for you:

      No, neither of the handhelds Apogee is releasing on (DS&PSP) support shareware.

      And you got modded up for saying that in so many words?!! WTF?!

      Downloading DS titles requires either a Wii through the free Nintendo Channel, or a Download Station that most stores that sell DS games have.

      Is that even English?! So I can get a free Wii through the Nintendo Channel? Really? Where do I find the Nintendo Channel? I can't even parse the second half.

    4. Re:Shareware on handhelds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      both the DS and the PSP have the capacity. Mobile phones have been included in the term "handheld" term for quite awhile, even if they're mostly all rubbish.

      though I'm not saying that shareware was likely to happen.

    5. Re:Shareware on handhelds? by tepples · · Score: 1

      Downloading DS titles requires either a Wii through the free Nintendo Channel, or a Download Station that most stores that sell DS games have.

      Is that even English?! So I can get a free Wii through the Nintendo Channel? Really? Where do I find the Nintendo Channel? I can't even parse the second half.

      Translation: Buy a Wii console, an 802.11g router, and a subscription to high-speed Internet access, and you get the Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo Channel at no additional cost. Go in a store that sells new Nintendo DS Lite systems, and you can download a selection of about a dozen game demos and videos, which disappear when you turn off the DS.

      But the DS and PSP still fail it when it comes to game moddability.

    6. Re:Shareware on handhelds? by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      Someone else mentioned PSP in a "sort of" category, so I think the iPhone/iPod Touch now qualifies in the same "sort of" category... in that there are free demos available, with the full version to be purchased if one wants.

    7. Re:Shareware on handhelds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      GP32 and GP2X...

    8. Re:Shareware on handhelds? by elex · · Score: 1

      You can download PSP demos using only the PSP, or at least you could...

    9. Re:Shareware on handhelds? by _xeno_ · · Score: 1

      It didn't work for me the last time I tried. I got an error that, when I looked it up online, indicated that the DRM check had failed.

      Trying through the PC PlayStation store worked first time, although I should probably have mentioned that "PC" in this case means "Windows XP/Vista."

      I don't have my PSP available to try again, so I dunno if it works now. I loaned my PSP out, since I wasn't currently using it for anything other than a paperweight.

      --
      You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
    10. Re:Shareware on handhelds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "But the DS and PSP still fail it when it comes to game moddability" Could you point out where that is? I didn't see that anywhere before your translation...

    11. Re:Shareware on handhelds? by tepples · · Score: 1

      Could you point out where [the comment on moddability] is?

      It wasn't. The translation ended at the paragraph break. I guess I should have been more clear as to where the translation ended and where my original comments began.

  6. blah blah blah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    am i the only one not caring about this trash?

    1. Re:blah blah blah by Flamora · · Score: 1

      Probably. Everyone I know who grew up in the mid-late 80s is excited as hell.

    2. Re:blah blah blah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i can't help it that you're a bunch of half wits.

    3. Re:blah blah blah by sm62704 · · Score: 1

      Get off my lawn, punk. I'm after Doctor Proton and I'm gonna be kickin' ass and takin' initials; I ain't got time for names.

      To answer your question, yes. I'm guessing Duke Nukem came out long before you were born.

      --
      mcgrew's razor: Never attribute to stupidity that which can be explained by greedy self-interest
  7. Good news for us aging fans of the series by elrous0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now how the Hell am I supposed to play it on a handheld with my arthritis?

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    1. Re:Good news for us aging fans of the series by rpillala · · Score: 4, Funny

      By the times these come out your arthritis will be curable.

      --
      When the axe came to the forest, the trees said, "Look out - the handle was once one of us."
    2. Re:Good news for us aging fans of the series by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 1

      And if you don't have arthritis in your hands yet a handheld will give it to you.

      --
      It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning
  8. Duke Nukem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Projected release date: 2099

    1. Re:Duke Nukem? by jd · · Score: 1

      Oh well. The world will either end with the Mayan calendar, the 32-bit datestamp or the 1950-2050 Y2K windowing fix long before 2099. (And if it fails to end on the third attempt, it can be placed in indefinite confinement under California's three strikes rule.)

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    2. Re:Duke Nukem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >Projected release date: 2099
      But by then, Earth will be under attack by the mysterious planet, Gamilon.

  9. Fantastic... by jonadab · · Score: 2, Informative

    I have been wishing for years that someone would do Commander Keen in 3D, with all of the vertically-oriented cartooney pogo-stick-and-floating-platform glory of the original, but in a vertigo-inducing new 3D version, complete with giant slugs and bright green yargs and so forth. If Apogee is coming back, now there's real hope that it could actually happen!

    --
    Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
    1. Re:Fantastic... by cthulu_mt · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I bet it could be done as a mod of Source/Portal engine.

      Quick! Someone take this idea and run...'cause I suck at programming!

      --
      Virginia is for lovers. EVE is for griefers.
    2. Re:Fantastic... by stevenvi · · Score: 1

      If Apogee is coming back, now there's real hope that it could actually happen!

      Nope, not at all. Apogee published Commander Keen. id Software developed it. They are the ones who own that franchise. The Dopefish makes a cameo appearance in Quake, actually.

    3. Re:Fantastic... by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      I'd rather not, using the pogo in 2d was hard at times but manageable, 3d just doesn't work for that since it's hard to see where floating platforms are located in 3d space and of course platforms are easier to miss since you have to align two dimensions instead of one, increasing the difficulty quadratically.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    4. Re:Fantastic... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "giant slugs and bright green yargs"

      As a Commander Keen fan, it makes me sick when you play fast and loose with the lore like this.

  10. Ever heard of 3D Realms, hm? by hee+gozer · · Score: 5, Informative

    They were never gone, they just dropped the name in favor of 3D Realms. Read the Wiki page on Apogee for details.

    (Now excuse me while I dig up that disk of Commander Keen 5...)

  11. space taxi for neo freerunner? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Duke Nukem? That means space taxi for neo freerunner can't be far behind!

  12. Duke on Handhelds? by Guppy06 · · Score: 1

    I can't wait to play this on my game.com!

  13. Aardwolf by Dwedit · · Score: 1

    Finally! Now I have someone to call up so I can say "Aardwolf" at them!

  14. Strange coincidence, unimportant to anyone but me by NoobixCube · · Score: 1

    Just as my motherboard half-died and left me without a video card (and an awful on board chip), I was reliving some Apogee classics in Dosbox. Now, I hear Apogee are coming back :D

    --
    Admit it. You post strawman arguments as AC so you get modded Insightful for refuting them, rather than Troll
  15. That website... by elex · · Score: 1

    is also a tip of the hat to a bygone age.

  16. My first thought when reading about this.... by zannox · · Score: 2, Funny

    yawn:

    "I'm here to kick ass and chew bubble gum! And I'm all outta....wait does the bubble gum from China have lead in it?"

    --
    I've nothing of importance to say, now go away before I taunt you with a second sig!
  17. Apogee by AnXa · · Score: 1

    Duke Nukem, Wacky Wheels, Terminal Velocity, Rise of the Triad, Secret Agent, Death Rally, Raptor, mmmmmmmmmm... 3

    --
    -Seeing the problem is ½ of solution-
  18. "Forever" is just business as usual uh? by xtracto · · Score: 1

    So, I thought Duke Nukem Forever was taking a long time to do, however it seems that taking an eternity to develop games is standard procedure for these guys uh?

    The most recent success the company was associated with was Prey, a game released July 11, 2006 after being stuck in development hell for 11 years

    --
    Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I can't configure Debian'
  19. I can think of a better character by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bring back Commander Keen! I'd love to play CK either on my Palm or my DS. Preferably my DS.