3DRealms comments on closure, lawsuit

3DRealms issued a statement this week addressing it’s closure and offering a rebuttal to Take-Two Interactive’s lawsuit alleging breach of contract related to Duke Nukem Forever. The statement, at face value, sheds some light on just what rights the creators of Duke Nukem Forever hold. The first thing worth noting is that 3DRealms claims that the company has not closed, despite notes on the company’s official web site, insider information and multiple news reports.

“Despite rumors and statements to the contrary, 3D Realms (3DR) has not closed and is not closing,” the company said in a statement. “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.”

What the company will be able to accomplish without any funding, developers, a less-than-stellar public image and a pending lawsuit seeking $20 million in damages for “breach of contract,” is in serious doubt.

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Being Duke Nukem

At least Deep Silver and Apogee Software haven’t given up on Duke Nukem. Deep Silver announced that it is continuing its search for the next live-action Duke Nukem actor and has now moved a three-city tour into a massive online audition open to anyone willing to take on the challenge.
Fans can do whatever they want to demonstrate why they should be the next Duke Nukem.

Performances will be judged by a panel of Duke Experts, including some of Duke’s creators. Judges will combine all entries from all over the United States and will then narrow it down to a lucky few. The judges will then make their decision and the winner will be announced.
The winner will get to travel around the world representing Deep Silver and Apogee Software as the new “official” Duke Nukem…and they’ll get paid to do it. They will be the new face of the Duke Nukem Trilogy as well

More info can be found at www.apogeesoftware.com. The Duke Nukem Trilogy, comprised of three episodes Critical Mass, Chain Reaction, and Proving Grounds, will be released sequentially beginning in 2009 for Nintendo DS and PSP.

Farewell: 3DRealms closing, says multiple sources

So here we are. According to multiple published reports, citing sources close to the company, 3DRealms has closed its doors. The company best known for the Duke Nukem franchise, the controversial Shadow Warrior and the eternally in-development Duke Nukem Forever, is closing its doors due to a lack of funding. Our requests for comments to 3DRealms and its publishing partner Take-Two remain unanswered as of this writing.

Deep Silver and Apogee Software have told Gamasutra that the Duke Nukem Trilogy for Nintendo DS and PSP compilation remains unaffected by today’s news. The Duke Nukem Trilogy features Duke Nukem: Chain Reaction, Duke Nukem: Critical Mass and Duke Nukem: Proving Grounds.

3D Realms was founded in 1987 by Scott Miller and George Broussard and is best known for Duke Nukem 3D and other Duke Nukem series of games for various platforms. The company is best known for the never ending development of its Duke Nukem 3D sequel Duke Nukem Forever. Thirteen years later, we have no idea how far along that game is - and now we may never know.

The company also produced Max Payne and Max Payne 2 with Remedy Entertainment - later selling the rights to the franchise to Take-Two for millions. The company’s other achievements include the recently released Xbox Live Arcade remakeof Duke Nukem 3D. The company also developed Shadow Warrior , published Human Head Studios’ Prey, a game that it began developing in the 90’s before it was cancelled by 3Drealms.

A visit to the official 3DRealms web site also reveals that the forum and all of its topics have been locked down. Today’s news is a bit shocking if you are a regular visitor to that web site, considering that the last update was on May 5th.

Source

Microids, Apogee Sale at GOG

There are two news items coming out of Good Old Games today worth noting: the classic games site is offering a 25 percent discount on all Apogee titles until Monday at 11:59pm Eastern Time. That means that you can pick up games like Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold, Blake Stone: Planet Strike and Rise of the Triad for just $4.49 each. I could lament about the lack of commander Keen games but who would listen. anyway, if you are interested in any of those titles (ROTT is worth at least that) then check out the Apogee page at GOG.

Today’s other announcement involves the inclusion of several Microids titles. Microïds will bring Mega Race 1 + 2, Haegemonia: Legion of Iron with the Solon Heritage expansion and Obscure to the site. The first title – a bundle of Mega Race 1 and 2 - is available now for $5.99. Learn more about that at www.gog.com.

Deep Silver and Apogee Team Up

Deep Silver and Apogee Software announced an agreement to co-publish the Duke Nukem Trilogy episodes for the Nintendo DS and PSP in North America and Europe. The Trilogy is comprised of three new episodes, released separately, beginning in the Summer of 2009. The three episodes are Critical Mass, Chain Reaction, and Proving Grounds. The Trilogy is being produced by Apogee under an exclusive license agreement with 3D Realms Entertainment and MachineWorks Northwest LLC, and will be released by Deep Silver.

Apogee announced earlier this week its return to the big stage of publishing after disappearing many moons ago. The publisher is best know for popularizing the shareware concept, selling such titles as Duke Nukem 3D, Doom, Commander Keen and many other popular games.

The Return of Apogee Software

The name Apogee was synonymous with the shareware movement. In 1987 the company helped develop and foster the concept of “try before you buy” with some pretty impressive titles like Commander Keen series, Duke Nukem, Rise of the Triad, and Wolfenstein 3D.

Today it was announced that the company is back and has its eye on the episodic game and digital distribution market. With the rise of digital distribution, Apogee has picked the perfect time to return. Apogee Software plans to revive some of its legacy catalogue of 30+ releases as well as publishing all-new games.

The very first property to come from Apogee is Duke Nukem — the classic Duke, not the Duke that is stuck in the purgatory that is Duke Nukem Forever. The new Duke game will be developed for the handheld console market with three new missions, together called the Duke Nukem Trilogy. Apogee Software is producing the Trilogy under an exclusive license agreement with 3D Realms and MachineWorks Northwest LLC. The Trilogy is comprised of three episodes: Critical Mass, Chain Reaction, and Proving Grounds.

The company is headed by Terry Nagy, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer and its other co-founder - the irrepressible Scott Miller. Learn more at www.apogeesoftware.com.