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3D Realms Offered $500,000 to Release Duke Nukem by December 2006
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happening
game: Duke Nukem Forever
posted by: Aaron Stanton
publisher: Take Two Interactive
developer: 3D Realms
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date posted: 12:25 PM Sat Jun 10th, 2006
last revision: 12:28 PM Sat Jun 10th, 2006



Click to read.GameSpot.com is reporting that Take Two Interactive has included a $500,000 incentive to their contract with 3D Realms, paid only if Duke Nukem Forever ships by December, 2006.

Duke Nukem Forever originally started development in 1997. A number of highly public delays have kept the title behind closed doors, making it the focus of a number of industry puns over the years. Many in the game community doubt it will ever see release.

However, when Take Two Interactive and 3D Realms renegotiated their contract in March of 2006. Not only has Take Two apparently cut their payment for the title from six to nearly four million dollars, but they also included an incentive payment if Duke Nukem Forever ships by the end of this year.

Many are happy with the development, seeing it as an indication that maybe the often delayed title will actually ship. However, we here at GamesFirst see it as a potentially negative thing.

The question is, will the extra $500,000 be enough to motivate 3D Realms to finish the game on time after losing nearly two million from their contract? It\'s nice to get an extra $500,000, but not when it\'s offered in conjunction with a two million dollar subtraction for the project. Of course, we don\'t know the details of why the change was made, or why the contract was renegotiated, but cutting money from the budget and then leaning on the developer to finish faster isn\'t exactly a formula for a quality game.

Popular thought holds that extremely long development times traditionally indicate poor or outdated gameplay, and few games have ever taken as long to develop as Duke Nukem Forever. It\'s hard to say how these changes will affect its final release. I\'d venture to guess that paying the developer less for a title at the same time as offering them a bonus to get it done faster will lead to a rushed title with lower standards.

To us, that just seems like a logical formula. In general, we here at GamesFirst consider this news neutral, at best.

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