When They Called It Duke Nukem Forever, Who Knew They Meant That's How Long It Would Take To Release?
from the another-year,-more-vapor dept
For years, Wired has offered up an annual "vaporware" list -- and there have been a few products that always seem to make the list. There was the oh-so-aptly-named "Phantom" gaming console, but that company finally just disappeared completely. However, the granddaddy of all vaporware, which has dominated the list over and over and over again for years has been the video game Duke Nukem Forever... and it comes as no surprise that it takes the top spot, once again. The game, of course, was supposed to have been released in early 1998, so we're pushing 10 years late here. At one point, Wired even gave it a "Lifetime Achievement Award" in order to get it off the list. That was for 2003. Since then, the game's stature as Vaporware extraordinaire has only grown, forcing Wired to put it back on the list -- in its rightful spot at the top. Of course, expecting this, the company behind the game has actually released a trailer for the game... which doesn't mean much. Either way, i'm betting that there are a lot of folks who'd prefer that this game remain in perpetual vaporware. It seems a lot more fun that way.
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Filed Under: duke nukem, vaporware
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I'll pass...
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DNF
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DNF ruined my life
that was in 1999.
i waited until 2001 and i have since built two gaming machines, and thanks to duke nukem forever, i will never again be excited about a new game, not even when i made it into the closed beta for lord of the rings online. that's supposed to be a great honor, but i was pessimistic, thinking to myself "what if they delay release indefinitely?"
i fear that i will never be able to love again :-(
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Waiting patiently
I'm looking forward to playing this game when it's finally released, but in spite of the long development time (or, perhaps, because of) I don't have very high expectations. I get the feeling 3DRealms has this vision for the game to be something great, and they don't want to disappoint the fans with the final product. I think that's entirely the wrong tactic here. Part of the Duke Nukem charm is how cheesy the whole thing is, and if you try to build an artsy, directed game with an overly impressive graphics engine you've missed the point.
They need to focus on fixing the bugs with whatever they have, cut a few corners with models and graphic design for the pieces they have in place, and build in a system releasing adding episodic content a la Half-Life 2: Episodes 1-3. This will give fans the promise of this not happening again, it will give shareholders and executives something with promise to point to ("This isn't just a game: it's a long-term platform and franchise investment."), and most importantly it will let them get the game out the door relatively quickly, even if it's not entirely finished.
That said, I expect to see the game on next year's list, too. Here's to hoping for an actual product in 2009.
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Of course, expecting this, the company behind the
Personally Id rather have a game come out with what the developer had in mind, not because of some deadline imposed by the marketing dept or because the shareholders/investors are getting tired of waiting. Im glad 3D Realms has enough guts to take their time and get it right instead of get it rushed. History is forever.
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Haven't we all moved on yet?
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Re: Haven't we all moved on yet?
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Did Not Finish
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Maybe while they are at it they can release an updated Wolfenstein [gleefully showing my age].
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Re:
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Re:Neck Crapping!
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Wolfenstein...
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really!
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DNF!
"Come get some!"
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?
Its scaring me.
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Re: ?
and he was simple and to the point.. not all this as we see before us now. i think the real duke died... now this is a duke impersonator. i think the aliens won. they got OUR duke! this isn't our duke, no way!
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that isn't even duke anymore.
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