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This honestly makes me sadder than I ever expected.
Of course it makes me sad to see any small developer go under, with the single exception of Running With Scissors, of whom my hat know no limit.
On the other hand, I wasn't exactly a fan of Duke Nukem. Oh yeah, I recognized that DN3D was a solid game and all, but the attitude and themes didn't really get me at the time. "Far too immature for my sophisticated tastes!" Over time I came to appreciate it as a parody of itself though, so I do remember the series fondly for that at least.
But what I really appreciated Duke Nukem for was the running gag that Duke Nukem Forever provided us with. All the Daikatana jokes in the world didn't hold a candle to the legend that DNF wound up becoming. It was the king-pope of vaporware. It was a record-breaker. It was the one game you could count on never coming out but remaining in some sort of weird in-production-limbo. It was never going to come out and it was never going to be cancelled. With all the turbulence in the videogame industry, it was an everpresent point of stability for us to cling to.
And now it's over.
I can't help but feel a bit guilty for having joined in the laughter as Duke Nukem Forever became the greatest joke in the videogame industry. Everyone was doing it, sure, but I still feel some regret that the company seemed to self-destruct. Even so, it's amazing, insane even, that 3D Realms lasted as long as it did. I mean damn.
What were they doing all that time? I'm not sure I want to think they simply had "Perfectionist's Paralysis", as that makes me even sadder. But I know they couldn't have spent all that time using funding on strippers and beer, which admittedly doesn't sound that unreasonable considering this is 3D Realms...
So yeah, another old videogame company has closed shop, and one with far more history behind it than just Duke Nukem. Sad times.
At least the memes will live on.
Well that sucks. I really liked thier game Prey alot, it was kickass. It was nice knowing you 3D Realms. Now I wonder whats gonna happen to Duke Nukem, Prey, and other franchise made by 3D Realms?