I recently linked to an article on shacknews regarding the apparent closure of 3D Realms.
This article was confirmed a few times and… well… Take-Two interactive, the company with distribution rights for Duke Nukem Forever, decided to sue 3D Realms / Apogee for not finishing the game. It was basically a claim of breach of contract for millions of dollars.
The project, Duke Nukem Forever, was the only title in development at the time by the actual 3D Realms portion of the company and had reportedly cost around $20 million dollars at the time of this issue.
Also, it is worth noting that 3D Realms has used internal funding for the project. They have not had funding for development from Take-Two.
But now things have become interesting. Executives of “3D Realms” have released a statement. In that notice, the claim that the company has NOT shut down and has only temporarily halted development on the project.
“Despite rumors and statements to the contrary, 3D Realms (3DR) has not closed and is not closing. 3DR retains ownership of the Duke Nukem franchise. Due to lack of funding, however, we are saddened to confirm that we let the Duke Nukem Forever (DNF) development team go on May 6th, while we regroup as a company. While 3DR is a much smaller studio now, we will continue to operate as a company and continue to license and co-create games based upon the Duke Nukem franchise.”
Instead, according to 3DR, this was a strong-arm tactic by Take-Two interactive. In the statement, 3DR says that it entered negotiations with Take-Two for funding to finish the game. Take Two then supposedly waited until the last minute to offer an unacceptable variation of the agreement which included “no upfront money, no guarantee minimum payment, and no guarantee to complete the DNF game.”
“Suddenly, after months of negotiations, Take-Two materially changed the parameters of the proposed funding agreement. 3DR informed Take-Two that it could not financially afford the changes Take-Two was suggesting and would be forced to release the team if an agreement was not reached.”
So… the sum total of this statement is… Take-Two and 3D Realms can’t play nice together and the gaming public gets stuck with the ass-end of their problems. The only people worse off then the gamers are the poor members of the development team that became a pseudo-political pawn in this matter.
Look, I’m fully supporting of company and creator rights. Absolutely. But I can’t stand to see two companies injure their employees in a bid for control of a product line.
It’s simple… Take-Two… if any of this is true then just suck it up and either give 3DR the money to complete the game or shut up. I mean it. PUT UP OR SHUT UP! The game does NOT belong to you. Publishing license… that belongs to you.
And 3D Realms… GROW SOME. If they don’t want to provide your funding, then seek it by other means or restructure. But don’t wait until the last minute and use employees as fodder for the press. Find alternatives and if all else fails, start fighting the legal battle to break away from Take-Two and find a better publisher.
EA might take the edge out of the game if chosen, but they do rule everything these days… from Battlefield to the Sims. They aren’t the only alternative either.
Yes, I realize I’m oversimplifying here. There is big money to be lost in breaking away from a publisher’s contract. But here’s the most basic point… PUBLISHERS DON’T START ACTING THIS WAY OVER NIGHT!
When I say “GROW SOME” I mean take a little responsibility and watch over your product. When a company like Take-Two starts using legal and political maneuvering, it’s time to break off relations and look for someone else. Heck… here’s a wild idea. USE F%#&ING STEAM!
Make a deal, offer Duke Nukem Forever on Steam.
Yes, again I know I am over simplifying. However, I have a serious problem with this matter. It reminds me of some of the old Valve / Vivindi Universal issues from a few years back. Do you remember that one?
My point is simply that 3D Realms should have had better foresight to begin with. And they certainly should have started the back-out process at least a year ago. Negotiations are tricky, but hiring a good attorney… yes… you actually only need one good lawyer but having more can help… will save you a world of hurt when your publisher gets greedy.
And Take-Two, again… if this is true… seriously… that’s just wicked. Trying to pry a creation away from its creators by any means necessary isn’t just cutthroat business. It’s a vile reflection of the reason so many people hate “big business”.
I apologize if I seem unreasonable to the casual reader… but this stuff makes me sick. People lost their jobs… not because of a bad economy or faulty production… rather, they lost their jobs because two business entities couldn’t behave as mature as the very product requires it’s players to be.
After so many years of development, the gamers… the consumers that purchase said product… are dismissing it. I suggests that both companies at least pretend to be run by adults and reach an agreement soon or the product itself will be outdated once again. And I don’t think gamers are as ready to wait another decade or two.
Now, I’m not going to pretend to know all of the gory details. I’m just ranting about a game I was waiting for… it’s on my wish list in the wish list thread. I’m also considerably disappointed by companies that behave so foolishly. And I’ve heard enough about this type of nonsense in recent weeks to have a fairly quick temper in this matter.
Read this quote from 3D Realms’ press release that took so damn long to make public. And on an important side note, remember this lack of public communication problem from the Valve/Vivendi incident and the HL2 delays. Many gamers grew to greatly dislike/distrust Valve as a result. Communication is key. I consider this prime evidence that both companies need to “GROW SOME”.
Anyway, here’s that last quote.
“From 3DR’s perspective, we viewed Take-Two as trying to acquire the Duke Nukem franchise in a “fire sale.” Those negotiations fell through on May 4th, a deal never materialized, and the DNF team was sadly released a few days later.
Less than a week after the DNF team was released, Take-Two filed its lawsuit in New York, seeking immediate temporary injunctive relief. The court denied Take-Two’s request for a temporary restraining order. While we cannot comment on the details of the ongoing lawsuit, we believe Take-Two’s lawsuit is without merit and merely a bully tactic to obtain ownership of the Duke Nukem franchise. We will vigorously defend ourselves against this publisher.”
If you want to read the full statement, check out this link on Shacknews…
http://www.shacknews.com/docs/press/20090518_dnf_3dr_.x
Again, I’m sorry if something I’ve written doesn’t make sense… I’m mostly writing out of frustration and I’m tired.
The truth is that 3D Realms’ Scott Miller has stated publicly that the developer would have accepted a $30 million buy-out of the Duke Franchise if it would have resulted in the completion of Duke Nukem Forever. So either the employees at 3D Realms are lying or Take-Two has become a money-grubbing monster.
I believe that the reality of this matter probably stands somewhere in the middle. In my opinion, if either company would have acted responsibly… none of this would even be an issue now.
