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3D Realms Sued Over Failed Duke Nukem Forever Plans
Take-Two Interactive has now sued 3D Realms over the cancellation of Duke Nukem Forever . Take-Two did not provide continuous funding for the game, but they did pay $12 million for the publishing rights to the game. A Bloomberg report quotes Take-Two's complaint as saying that 3D Realms "continually delayed the completion date" and "repeatedly assured Take-Two and the video-gaming community that it was diligently working toward competing development of the PC Version" of the game. (The complaint refers to 3D Realms as part of Apogee Software, Ltd., not to be confused with Apogee Software, LLC, the publisher behind the still-forthcoming Duke Nukem Trilogy.)
but they'll never see 12 million dollars out of it.
.. that this ugly business is all a hoax, and they are preparing to release it, but that's probably just me in denial :(
... that DNF will never be a reality?
The expectation was killin me, it's like a girlfriend that always teases but never puts out.
Perhaps they have a point: Can't Fukem Forever. What they'll get though is questionable. At best the current code which might open up the possibility of continuation of development.
surely 3D Realms don't have any financial assets left after going bust ..?
It's time to sue everyone and chew bubble gum... and I'm all outta gum!
I really, really, hope that the current work of DnF is not lost. That all the data, code, levels, ..., are going to be released somewhere. Or better, finished into a playable state.
Isn't it possible to find a different developer that can take it over?
3D Realms threw a handful of bills at Take Two Interactive's bitch lawyers and said, "Wanna dance?"
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
Dear sirs, I hear the underpants gnomes have some distribution rights for sale... I'd be happy to negotiate a deal on their behalf with Take-Two.
3...2...1...
I! Tego Arcana Dei.
This story simply refuses to die, much to the enjoyment of gamers everywhere. I guess it's reasonable for us to get some schadenfreude mileage out of it, considering we've been fed the same when it's ready line for 12 years now...
You're just the gift that keeps on not giving, aren't you?
If DnF is ever released how good will it have to be to live up to 12 years of expectation? Of course it will make mint regardless, so I guess it doesn't really matter.
3D Realms don't have $12 million. If they did they wouldn't have gone belly up. A game developer has virtually no tangible assets. Computers will add up to the tens of thousands at most, devkits are owned by the console manufacturers, offices are leased. The IP is typically not going to have anyone wanting to buy it.
The only exception to that last point is Take Two. They have a vested interest in making this game a reality. Presumably the point to this is that they become creditors and so will have a claim on the aspects of DNF that have been completed.
...they should just go to the 3D Realms headquarters, rip their heads off and shit down their neck.
Every expression is true, for a given value of 'true'
If they had actually released a game or two in the last 13 years. :(
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One common outcome in such situations is that the Distributor winds up with full development rights to the game, which they can then shop around to another party for completion.
Karma Whoring for Fun and Profit.
I wonder if they're bringing this suit to try to scare GB into handing over all Duke IP. This comes awfully soon after their offer to purchase it outright for $30M.
--- Do you believe in the day?
They'll go into their bankruptcy when it's ready!
Dang! Someone give me 12 million dollars to simply MAKE a game, and I could get it done in ten years. By myself... Finding it hard to have pity for 3D Realms...
http://www.beanleafpress.com
Yeah, they could have released, say, Max Payne games in 2001 and 2003, and Prey in 2006?
Oh wait, they did. You fail it.
until someone gets sued.
...that's how it goes, right?
Honestly. I'm not so disappointed about the game being turfed now with all this great news about the horrendous clusterfuck the entire production was. It's more interesting just to read about how this train wreck went down. Much much better than if 3Drealms just said 'welp, we've decided to cancel production and move onto something else'.
Least in this scenario fans are getting *something* entertaining in an abstract sense.
And that was the last Terry Fox run I ever participated in.
I can see why they are angry.. I can even see why they might want to sue but aren't they leaving a bit late? 3DR has already gone bankrupt, so they unlikely to be able to pay them any substantial cash anyway.
The whole DNF failure is largely 3DR's fault - they were the guys with their fingers on the keys, but Take Two have got to accept some responsibility for letting them get away with consistently failing to produce the goods for such a long time - I mean a few delays are to be expected in any project of this size but surely t some point you've got to get the distinct impression that all is not well. And I would have thought that would have been, y'know - in less than twelve years. Surely if nothing else the continual industry ridicule must have been a small clue?
And amidst all the chaos and all the horror that is the closing of 3D Realms, I'm left with one cruel, cruel realization: This really DOES mean we'll never see a proper sequel to Rise of the Triad. *sigh*
Demanding constant attention will only lead to attention.
... And we're gonna fry your ass!
What?!?!? You mean to tell me that there is someone in the world who not only actually believed that DNF would be finished someday, but they believe it so strongly that they were willing to invest $12 million into it?!?!?
Where do I meet these people? I can "build" far bigger and better vapourware than DNF for half that price! Please, give me a call.
"You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war." -- Albert Einstein
I was always under the impression that DNF was some inside joke and never was actually going to be made. I'd thought Take2 was in on it but it appears they did not get the memo. The gaming public should be sueing both parties for empty promises and an excruciatingly long hype machine.
Ah, Prey. Almost as vaporware as DNF was until I actually saw it come out. FYI, Prey was "in development" for 11 years. So this really poor management thing seems to be a recurring problem with 3D Realms.
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What most people don't realize is that Take 2 NEVER paid 3D Realms directly for development on DNF. 3D Realms self-funded ALL 12 years of development. The money they're suing them for was for publishing rights purchased from GT Interactive and Infogrames several years ago. This is completely separate from 3D Realms.
Most people assume this is a typical publisher-developer relationship, but it's not. Take2 doesn't own the rights to the game or any of the content in it... only the rights to publish it whenever it's done. 3D Realms ran out of money, asked them for some, were denied, and had to close down for lack of funds and all their employees are now looking for new employment in a horrific economy.
It's a shame 3DR couldn't have gotten it together sooner.
I enjoyed Duke Nukem on my Playstation all those years ago. However, I'm not terribly hardcore.
I don't really feel that I missed out on too much because Serious Sam filled much the same niche in my mind... first person shooter with lots of humor and non-stop waves of baddies, an arsenal of weapons, piles of gibbs, and a chain saw for when things go really pear-shaped.
The Digital Sorceress
Could this wind up to be the makings of SCO 2.0?
With SCO being replaced by 3DS and Novell being replaced by Take 2?
And a lawsuit induced bankruptcy?
Max Payne was developed by Remedy and Rockstar. Prey (the version we finally got), was developed almost entirely by Human Head.
3D Realms hasn't singlehandedly developed a game in a very long time.
Sigs are for losers
-So where's all that money now?
Directed by Uwe Boll, of course...
DNF was originally going to be published by Infogrammes (since renamed Atari).
The $12m figure that T2 keep throwing around in the press was paid by T2 to Infogrammes to purchase from Infogrammes the exclusive right to publish DNF.
If T2 is not happy with their purchase, they have two choices:
1) suck it up - caveat emptor!
2) give Infogrammes crap for selling them a pig in a poke
At no point did T2 give $12m to 3DRealms to make DNF.
In all this, I wonder what will happen/has happened to the Shadow Warrior ip? After DNF, was there going to be a Shadow Warrior remake? Who want'sa some Wang?
Hopefully in the suit, this forces 3DRealms hand to over the Duke Nukem Forever IP rights, so Take2 can finalize the the product and release the game in hope to recoup the funds lost in the investment.
Yeah, that's what we need, DNF to finally be released as some slapped together pile of tech demos by Take Two code monkeys. The only hope of a worthwhile release that I can see, and it's a very long shot, is that what currently exists of the game is released to Duke Nukem fans, who hopefully make up for in love and enthusiasm what they lack in expertise, to make something out of.
Property is theft.
The complaint refers to 3D Realms as part of Apogee Software, Ltd., not to be confused with Apogee Software, LLC, the publisher behind the still-forthcoming Duke Nukem Trilogy.
Yeah, that's not confusing at all. Who would confuse Apogee Software Limited, responsible for the development of Duke Nukem Forever, with Apogee Software Limited Liability Corp, publisher of the Duke Nuken Trilogy? Clearly they have nothing in common.
"Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
It's sad for 3DRealms if they have lost their rights to their flag ship IP because they have no more funds, but they were milking the cow for way to long and this is business. Eventually you have to provide a product and not feel strung along. In this case I think Take2 patiently waited through the good economic times, and now it was time for them to recoup their investment.
i wonder what will the dnf designers/developers do now? when they apply for a job in some other graphic/game designing, what will they say they have done in the last 12 years? looks like they milked the cow too long.
Wealth is the gift that keeps on giving.
Max Payne 1+2 was developed by Remedy Entertainment. Prey was in development hell until given out to Humanhead Studios, who finished it.
True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
A link for those wanting to watch the lawyering: NY court info
A preliminary injunction has been filed, I would guess to keep the IP from being idly sold off in the bankruptcy, but no lawyers for 3DRealms has been noted on the site. "Disposition deadline" is in August 2011. How swift is that?
Take Two may be using this suit to establish a claim it can take to the bankruptcy court. Once there, however, it'd have to swim with the other creditors in the pool and fight for whatever morsels it thinks is coming to it.
Here's the plan:
(1) GeorgeB and the 3DR crew go to Microsoft; and,
(2) They tell MS that for $10 million they will make DNF run only on Windows 7 with a release date to exactly coinside with Windows 7 release date; and,
(3) Take-Two still has sole publishing rights, so they're happy.
Everyone wins, the game comes out, MS get's an exclusive to their new OS, making people upgrade to Seven if they want to play DNF, Take-Two gets their money's worth in sales, and 3DR doesn't die the laughing stock they would have.
Who said I was pissed off? In fact, quite the opposite! :-) I'm taking great personal joy in watching him reverse every campaign promise he made to you mindless robots who will fall for any shiny marketing campaign. I'll bet you have an iPhone, too, don't you, fanboi? :-) Still in Iraq? Check! Gitmo still open? Check! Military tribunals? Check! Government still as opaque as ever and stimulus checks going out to dead people? CHECK!!!
I've always thought the name derived from a happy hour exchange between developers and marketeers, "Wouldn't it be nice if we could keep working on Duke Nuken? "Yeah. Like Duke Nuken, forever..."
Hopefully all the rights go to T2, including the 3DR name. If DNF actually, you know, gets finished, it'd feel almost wrong for there to not be the "3drealms" logo at the start, right before the nuclear symbol.
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
ermac:
This is obviously part of the marketing plan, right? This just gets more and more clever! Can't wait til E3!!
DogDharma:
I bet they will let the entire trial run its course. Then, right before judgment, the judge will hold up a copy of DNF and yell "The verdict is gold!". Biggest trick of all time.
I love Shackenews
Uke is in the name too but nobody is talking about that.
AG
Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro
Ooops, it's actually four articles: http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Virtudyne_0x3a__The_Founding.aspx
Well worth it, though.
tl;dr: They flushed $200M down the toilet in the attempt to built a MS Office killer in Visual Basic 6, and ended up attaching computers to donkeys in the Himalaya. No shit!
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
Careful, at some point there was the possibility for DNF to be completed. I remember seeing TV commercials about it but it just never happened. I never saw a single TV commercial for Blizzard's Starcraft: Ghost, and you know what, that game never happened. So if you see a commercial for Duke Nukem Forever, after the great success of Duke Nukem 3D, and playing Duke Nukem 1 and 2 (side scrollers) as a kid for hours, what would you think....THEY'RE MAKING DUKE NUKEM FOREVER. Fast forward quite a few years, we've passed through many iterations of Half-Life, id Software was reborn and moved on, the Unreal team moved on, Call of Duty was rediculous, computers for the most part, all but lost the gaming wars and that is only because games like WoW exist on the computer.