Tag Archives | Vaporware

Duke Nukem Forever Lives On in Rumor

I have a hard time imagining a world in which Duke Nukem Forever exists. Part of me prefers that it remains a notorious example of vaporware, rather than a game you can actually play.

Yet the tale of Duke Nukem Forever is so legendary, the brand so enduring, that I’m not surprised another developer is reportedly picking up where 3D Realms left off after 12 years of development. Citing unnamed sources, Kotaku reports that Gearbox, the studio behind Borderlands and several well-received Half-Life expansion packs, is now working on Duke Nukem Forever.

Gearbox would be a logical choice given that Take-Two Interactive, which published Borderlands, still owns the publishing rights to Duke Nukem Forever. The path to development was cleared when Take-Two settled a lawsuit with developer 3D Realms/Apogee in May, over the game’s failure to launch. No one’s confirming the rumor, but Gearbox president Randy Pitchford told Kotaku that he might clarify the matter next month, at the Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle.

The problem with Duke Nukem Forever, as a game, is that it isn’t really a game. Duke Nukem Forever is a story of the game industry’s astounding evolution over the last dozen years, and one company’s futile race to keep up with an ever-climbing bar. In the hands of another developer, the perpetual drive for better and more is lost, along with Duke Nukem Forever’s soul.

Of course, I’d still play the game, but mostly for the spectacle, and maybe some closure. If Gearbox announces Duke Nukem Forever next month, the only outcome I’ll fully accept is stalled development leading to oblivion — a cruel joke to keep the legend alive. That’s the Duke Nukem Forever I know.

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Sub $100 Tablet on Tap from OLPC by 2012

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) officials on Tuesday outlined an ambitious program to bring a tablet PC to market within two years at a price of less than $100. This would be combined with efforts to upgrade and bring down the cost of the current XO laptop which has become the effort’s signature product.

An upgrade to the current model is due at a $200 price point next month. This will be followed by a touchscreen version of the XO laptop in 2011 at a price point of around $150, and finally the tablet which would make its way to market the following year.The tablet would be made of flexible plastic and would be a drastic departure from the current design of the laptop, officials say.

OLPC has struggled recently as the company was forced to lay off 50 percent of its workforce earlier this year. This likely had a lot to do with the worsening economy, which hit the tech sector fairly hard. But the initiative is trudging on, determined to complete its mission of providing technology to children in the developing world. Admirable, but of course a bit costly.

I for one am super curious as to how these folks are going to pull this off. I know you can’t tell much from pictures, but that looks like an awfully advanced device. How are you going to be able to build something like that for $100? I understand that advancements in technology these days are moving faster and faster, but we don’t even have products like this available to the general public right now, much less underprivileged kids around the world.

Hopefully this isn’t going to end up as vaporware, but right now it sure looks like it.

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