Take-Two: "Just finish DNF already, darnit! Now!"

[A Black Falcon]

Take Two recorded a $50.2 million dollar lose for last quarter as shares slumped 17.53 percent. The filing also mentions some Duke Nukem Forever release date rumors and incentives:

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 only $4,250 for the oft-delayed game, when it is completed.

When will that be? Well, 3D Realms now has a fairly large incentive to get Duke Nukem Forever done by the end of the year. The 10-Q also reveals that Take-Two has offered the studio $500,000 in the form of a promissory note if the game sees "commercial release" by December 31, 2006. The deal applies only to the PC version of the game, although it was announced for the Xbox and the PlayStation 2 in 2001 and is rumored to be in development for the Xbox 360.

http://ve3dboards.ign.com/message.asp?topic=24093452
(Note: the article is wrong -- it's actually been reduced to only 4.2 million, not $4,200. Still, that's a third of what they were going to get...)


We'll see, but I'm doubtful it'll make that date... :)

Actually, I hope it doesn't. You see, they started early development in February 1997... it'd be a shame to release it so close to its 10th anniversary of non-completion! :D

Seriously, I know that 10 years is a long time, but if they rush the last part to try to finish it by the end of the year, it would be sad... 3DRealms has made or helped make a lot of great games, and this one has been their main project for a really long time now. They need to prove that it was worth the effort and that this is indeed the great FPS that it could be and that lives up to the legacy of Duke 3D... (and Duke 1 and 2, but as side-scrollers they play very differently, making the comparison less relevant)