Chrissyx
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DNF: Offizielles Statement von 3D Realms und mehr
Posted by Chrissyx – 22.05.2009 – 19:27 Uhr – Kategorie: Duke Nukem Forever

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Nachdem Take 2 Klage gegen 3DR eingereicht hat (Will sehen!), hat auch Scott Miller reagiert und verneint, auch nur einen Penny von den $12 Millionen gesehen zu haben:

>>> Did Take Two give 3DR that $12 million for development <<<

No. We didn't get a penny of that money. This, along with so much else, is 100% spin, being eaten up by those who have no clue whatsoever. But, we cannot talk yet. We will, soon...

Und auch verneint, dass es angeblich ein $30 Millionen Angebot gegeben hätte:

>>> T2 declined but offered $30M for ownership of the IP and 3DR would have finished DNF.

We would have taken this offer without hesitation. Not. Even. Close.

Ohne zu zögern, würde er ein solches Angebot annehmen und mit dem Geld eine neue Marke schaffen, bekräftigte Miller noch einmal:

>>> I would have sold the IP in a heart beat and created a new IP with that 30 million dollars. <<<

Hell, I would have also!!!!!!!!!!

Daraufhin folgte endlich eine Presseerklärung von George Broussard (komplett zu finden unter Weiterlesen), die für Klarheit sorgt: Entgegen aller Berichte, macht 3DR nicht zu, sondern gruppiert sich neu und bleibt als kleinere Firma bestehen. Einzig das Entwicklerteam musste leider entlassen werden. Wegen der Klage, betont man noch einmal, habe man nie Boni oder sonstige Zahlungen erhalten für DNF - bis Juli 2008. Damals hat Take 2 für eine unangekündigte Sache $2,5 Millionen gezahlt, was die Gesamtsumme darstellt, die man jemals in Verbindung mit DNF erhalten habe. 3DR selber hat ganz allein über $20 Millionen in das Projekt gesteckt.
Im letzten Jahr begannen dann Verhandlungen mit Take 2 um die endgültige Fertigstellung zu finanzieren. Während man in den Monaten der Verhandlungen wichtige Meilensteine erreichte, änderte der Publisher plötzlich die Rahmenbedingungen. Obwohl man sich die Änderungen nicht leisten konnte und man in Folge dessen das Entwicklerteam entlassen müsste, lenkte Take 2 nicht ein und macht ein Last Minute-Angebot, welches noch untragbarer war. 3DR betrachtet diesen Vorstoß als "Räumungsverkauf", um an die Rechte für Duke Nukem zu kommen. Am 4. Mai wurden die Verhandlungen erfolglos eingestellt und zwei Tage später das Team entlassen. Die nachfolgende Klage wird daher als reine Schikane angesehen, aber man wird sich energisch gegen diesen Publisher wehren.

Shame on you, Take 2!

Link zum Thema im Forum

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3D Realms Release – Pertaining to Recent Events Surrounding Duke Nukem Forever
Dallas, TX (May 18, 2009) – In light of recent press articles and statements by Take-Two (to the media and in a lawsuit), we want to set the record straight on some issues.

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.

As some of you may know, Take-Two filed a lawsuit last week containing various accusations and claims against 3DR and the uncompleted DNF game. Take-Two never paid 3DR advances or any signing bonus or any other funds related to DNF, up until July 2008, at which time they paid $2.5m in connection with another agreement for an unannounced game. This is the sum total Take-Two has paid 3DR in connection with DNF. Take-Two claims that they paid $12m to GT Interactive/Infogrames to acquire the publishing rights for the DNF game. To be clear, 3DR was not a party to that transaction and did not receive any money from it. When the DNF game was originally signed with GT Interactive in 1998, GT paid 3DR a $400,000 signing bonus. Up until July 2008, this was the only publisher money we received for the DNF game. Meanwhile, 3DR put over $20m into the production of DNF.

Take-Two retains publishing rights for the DNF game, although 3DR retains certain rights to sell the game directly to the public. Late last year, 3DR began negotiations with Take-Two to provide funding to complete the DNF game. In the meantime, 3DR was hitting mutually-agreed milestones, despite not having a new agreement finalized. Take-Two was well aware that 3DR needed the funding to continue the DNF game development. 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. Take-Two made a last minute proposal to acquire the Duke Nukem franchise and the 3DR development team. Take-Two's proposal was unacceptable to 3DR for many reasons, including no upfront money, no guarantee minimum payment, and no guarantee to complete the DNF game. 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.

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Quelle(n):     ↓http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/58651http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?id=19924013#itemanchor_19924013http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?id=19932691#itemanchor_19932691http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?id=19932664#itemanchor_19932664http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/58681http://www.shacknews.com/docs/press/20090518_dnf_3dr_.xhttp://kotaku.com/5259942/3d-realms-were-not-closing-spent-20-million-on-duke-nukem-forever