And? Anything relating to DNF stopped being relevant and attention-worthy about eight years ago. | |
Wow what madness. I think Yahtzee said it best when he said any competent developer could have crapped it out in a weekend. Isn't Take Two bound to lose even more money by not finding a competent developer to get this freaking game out there while dealing with being ripped off? | |
does that money also fund Apogee's secret moon base? | |
I'd expect this kind of fiduciary irresponsibility from a bank (topical humor!), but a game studio? That had its own existence at stake with this game? I swear, if there is justice in this univerese, each 3D Realms employee should be forced to finish the game by himself or herself in a 10x10 cell and not be allowed to come out until the game is ****ing done. | |
This might be the craziest videogame production story ever. Duke Nukem Forever is the gaming industry's Apocalypse Now, Fitzcarraldo or The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Although it's beginning to look a little bit more like The Smartest Guys in the Room with this off-shore thing (which has to be totally illegal, right? Companies can't just push money off the books like that, correct?). All we need now is a love-triangle and maybe a murder, and it should be set. | |
Sounds like a summer blockbuster movie to me :) | |
Did you even read the story or are you just trying to be preemptively cool? | |
Apogee just needs to give up the f***ing source code so a REAL developer can make this game. If they are gonna be idiots about it, hand it over to someone thats gonna do something with it. | |
So were they too busy drug trafficking this whole time to finish the game? There is something shady there, even if its just allegation companies that are willing to work with you dont just throw out allegations for now reason. This looks like a mystery for Duke Nukem to go kick the crap out of...if only 3d realms would release him. | |
pheeeewww the gloves are finally off. Personally, if I was running the business, I would have been fuming at the thought that all this money had vanished because of some two-bit goons whose game was only popular because they had strippers in it. | |
Yeah I'm not gunna lie if Take-Two is worried about screenshots / software being released by 3d realms ex-employees they shouldn't be too nervous at all. Judging by the stuff that Tramell Isaac posted, all of it is made for a ridiculously outdated game engine anyway. Like...seriously...terribad. Any half decent 3d modeller with some software can produce better stuff than that. If Take-Two owns the rights to it (? haven't really followed that closely to the DNF story) they should drop on by some mod development forums and pick up some modders-by-hobby to do their dirty work. Probably fairly cheap/easy to set up a team. | |
You know what? I think the story behind DNF deserves some sort of documentary. I mean, geez. This tale is a epic one... and it's still going. | |
Glad to see someone's taking Apogee to task for their monumental failure. Let's hope Take-Two teaches these guys a lesson. | |
See, now, Apogee were the publisher for the first 5 Commander Keen games. Let's see any of you justify piracy better than THAT. I hope whatever rights still exist in their hands to those games filter back to id and id makes more. Oh, right, everyone was talking about DNF, my bad. Offshore banking = not cool. | |
Either Take-Two actually seen the code and seen parts of the game in action to be convinced that this game can be made or they are just trying to save face. I believe that 3D Realms just figured out that they would rather waste the money on themselves than on a nonexistent game. | |
They're probably just all out of gum. =P | |
I was more thinking along the lines of Watergate.... | |
I mean seriously, how many weird twists has this game taken so far? | |
Yeah, Midway has-wait WHA? Money scandals without Midway or EVE? MADNESS! | |
Those fuckers!... If it would've been Activision, or some other douche-bags, that they ripped off I would've laughed... But Take-Two! The company that brought us GTA, Civ, Bioshock, Max Payne, Mafia and Midnight Club... Seriously! The only producer in the industry who can take some risks... FUCK YOU 3D REALMS!!!! I hope they lose the case! Also, sorry for caps and bad language, but it was necessary. | |
Wow, I just lost ALL faith in 3D Realms. Hope you lose this one, 3D Realms. | |
Oh, man, the drama just keeps on going. I need some popcorn. | |
Not that it'll happen but I'm more hoping for Take Two to cut their losses and for Bethesda to do what they did with the Fallout franchise. Imagine the possibilities. | |
hum so what there saying is 3d relams has the cash to make duke nukem and they want it off them to presumably do what 3 d relams didnt? I hope not. Sue em and take the cash and give it to a good little developer waiting to shower us with good ideas rather then macho clap trap! | |
I laughed very, very hard when I read this. When you've been working on a single game for more than a decade and really have nothing worthwhile to show for it, how could you possibly be surprised when you get fired? That's like the rest of us sitting in the break room for 5 hours every day, going to sit at our desk for 20 minutes, then taking a 3 hour lunch...every single day for ten years. | |
Hee hee! Isn't that cute! They think there's source code. "Gentlemen, can you explain why your attorney dropped off an attache case full of scribbled cocktail napkins to our office...?" | |
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Take-Two Alleges Offshore Banking Shenanigans at 3D Realms
Take-Two Interactive has accused 3D Realms of having "substantial" amounts of money stashed in an offshore account, presumably to keep it hidden and immune from any consequences arising from the studio's failure to deliver Duke Nukem Forever.
In documents originally filed in mid-May, Take-Two revealed that it had asked Apogee Software - better known as 3D Realms - if the studio could "co-develop" an Xbox 360 version of Duke Nukem Forever. Apogee would only agree to do so, however, if Take-Two agreed to "fully fund Apogee's reaching certain milestone," which in the light of more than a decade of delays in the PC version the publisher was hesitant to do. It offered to fund half the costs of concurrent development of the PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game up to the "Alpha Milestone" of the PC version, and then fund the rest of the game development once it was completed.
Despite being contractually obligated to complete and deliver Duke Nukem Forever on the PC anyway, Apogee declined the deal. Take-Two claims in the lawsuit that its subsequent decision to develop the game independently has been stymied by the refusal of 3D Realms to hand over the source code and other materials relevant to the game.
Further, Take-Two said it is concerned that former members of the DNF development team, angered by their surprise dismissal, may leak proprietary information about the game "in an effort to obtain recognition for years of prior work on the DNF project, to improperly sell the information to a third party and/or to retaliate against Apogee," which could potentially harm Take-Two's exclusive rights to "publish, exploit and control the DNF brand." The suit specifically cites the case of Tramell Isaac, formerly the art director on the project, who posted unreleased DNF renders on his personal blog.
But the most interesting claim in the lawsuit is this: "Notwithstanding Apogee's consistent assurances that it would soon complete development of DNF, on May 6, 2009, Apogee closed its studios, terminated development of DNF and laid off all employees who had been involved in the DNF project. Upon information and belief, Apogee has title to a substantial amount of funds deposited in an off-shore account, which Take-Two believes Apogee can use to fund its outstanding obligations." [Emphasis mine.]
A year ago, the suggestion that Apogee was stashing Duke Nukem Forever development money in an offshore bank account could have been the punchline for any of a number of webcomics. Today, it doesn't seem so far-fetched. It'll be a shame if this is settled out of court, even though it most likely will be; I'd love to know if Take-Two's allegations are correct, and if so, just how much money Apogee has socked away over the years.
One other interesting point: In spite of the drama, it doesn't sound like Take-Two is quite ready to walk away from Duke Nukem Forever just yet: The publisher is seeking an injunction that "compels Apogee to reasonably cooperate in good faith with Take-Two in the development of the console versions of DNF." A full copy of Take-Two's complaint is available at FileShack. (PDF format)
Source: Shacknews
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