Duke Nukem Forever!

[Atrocities]

For those of you who thought that Duke Nukem Forever was one of those never going to happen long long long forgotten, yet highly wanted PC FPS's.. well worry no more...

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot
Posted Jun 13, 2006 12:27 pm PT

Broussard: We won't rush Duke Nukem Forever New!
3D Realms' outspoken president trashes rumors that development of the long-delayed shooter will be accelerated to reap a $500,000 payment from Take-Two.



Late last week, Take-Two Interactive filed a 10-Q earnings statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Buried inside of it, the company noted that in March, it had renegotiated its agreement with developer 3D Realms to publish the long-in-the-making shooter Duke Nukem Forever.

According to the 10-Q, the two parties agreed to new financial terms, which were listed in the 10-Q in thousands of dollars (figures have been updated to reflect real numbers): "In March 2005, the company [Take-Two] renegotiated a $6,000[,000] contingent obligation due upon delivery of the final PC version of Duke Nukem Forever through the payment of $4,250[,000] and issuance of a promissory note in the principal amount of $500[,000]. The payment of the promissory note is contingent upon the commercial release of such product prior to December 31, 2006."

With Take-Two holding out a $500,000 promissory note as a carrot to get Duke Nukem Forever, some PC gamers became hopeful that the project would be finished in time for the 2006 holiday season. Others worried that the storied title, which has been in development since 1997, would be rushed into production before it was truly ready.

Now, it seems the former group has had their hopes dashed--while the latter group has had its fears allayed. In a post on the 3D Realms forums started in part due to a GameSpot typographical error (which has since been corrected and apologized for), Broussard has dismissed the prospect that 3D Realms would be tempted by a half-million dollar sum.

"As for the 500k completion bonus, I don't even know were that came from," said the outspoken executive. "I do know that we never cared or asked for it, and I think it was just tossed in as part of some other agreement. We're certainly not motivated by that amount of money, after all this time, and getting the game right is what matters. I would never ship a game early (even a couple of months), for 500k."

Broussard went on to outline the current status of Duke Nukem Forever. "Our deal is simple," he said. "We're making the game. It'll be done when it's done. We've funded 99.999% of the game (aside from a very, very small advance from GT Interactive, years ago, before Take 2 bought the game from them). It's our risk, our necks and our gamble. Under the deal we should be earing royalties from about unit 30,000 or so (that's a real small number)."

I won't be holding my breath for DME .. gave up on it years ago. The game was ready in 2001 but never released. Now its slated for a winter 2006 release... not holding my breath.

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot
Posted Jun 9, 2006 2:17 pm PT

Shortly after the stock markets closed yesterday, Take-Two Interactive announced a $50.2 million loss for its second quarter. Today when the markets reopened, the publisher took a beating worthy of that doled out in one of its more violent games. At the closing bell, its share was down $2.94, or 17.53 percent, falling to $13.83. The final figure was just $0.19 above the stock's 52-week low of $13.64, but the share value had sunk to $13.74 during the day.

But while traders panicked, analysts were more sanguine on Take-Two's fortunes. Friedman Billings Ramsey's Shawn Milne lowered his target price for the company $16 to $14, but maintained a "Market Perform" rating. UBS's Mike Wallace seemed indifferent to the news. "No excitement here," he said in a note issued today, in which he maintained his "Neutral" valuation of the company.

Of more interest to gamers was some major news buried in a 10-Q filing Take-Two issued to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday. Toward the bottom of the form in the "Notes to Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements" subsection, was a major development regarding one of the most famous--or infamous--PC games of all time: Duke Nukem Forever.

According to the 10-Q, March saw Take-Two and 3D Realms renegotiate the original contract for Duke Nukem Forever, which began back in 1997. Under the original deal, 3D Realms was to receive some $6 million from Take-Two to develop the title. Now, the Texas-based developer will receive $4.25 million for the oft-delayed game.

"In March 2005, the Company [Take-Two] renegotiated a $6,000 contingent obligation due upon delivery of the final PC version of Duke Nukem Forever through the payment of $4,250 and issuance of a promissory note in the principal amount of $500," read the 10-Q, listing figures in thousands of dollars--i.e. $4,250 = $4.25 million. "The payment of the promissory note is contingent upon the commercial release of such product prior to December 31, 2006."