Duke Nukem was, at one point, one of the most recognisable characters in the world of gaming.
The character first appeared in a couple of side-scrolling action titles, but it was thanks to the success of Duke Nukem 3D that he was genuinely propelled into the big time. This was followed by a series of titles which kept Duke in the limelight, until the much-delayed Duke Nukem Forever came along and damaged the character's stature.
While Duke has had a new lease of life thanks to a pair of Evercade collections, Jon St John – the voice actor behind the character's iconic dialogue – feels that it's time for the politically incorrect hero to kick ass and chew bubblegum once more.
"I wonder if I could raise enough money to BUY the Duke Nukem franchise through a Kickstarter?" he asks on Facebook (thanks, Vice). "No clue how much is needed, or if enough people would back it, but this iconic character deserves to game on! Your thoughts?"
It's not entirely clear if St John (who, fact fans, also voices Big the Cat from Sonic Adventure) is being totally serious with this post, but would you back such a crowdfunding campaign? Do you think the current rights holder, Gearbox Software, would be willing to entertain such an idea? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
[source vice.com]
Comments 15
No.
Let Duke Nukem stay where he belongs, in the past.
That series is like the Sanic of FPS games retreating and rehashing the same ground over and over.
It'd be awesome to get Duke out of Randy Pitchford's greasy hands, that's for sure!
It would be in better Hands as it is with the current Rights Holder
Would like to see a new Duke Nukem Game, maybe those who made Ion Maiden could do it.
And even if Duke Nukem Forever has its bad Reputation, the Game is very enjoyable, has many diverse Levels and Ideas included.
It would be nice to see a new game, but the humor would be heavily watered down for modern sensibilities unfortunately
I would love to see a new Duke Nukem game but I very much doubt he can do that.
I think i prefer Gearbox (you know, an actual developer) having the rights over giving a voiceactor (with i presume zero actually development skills/experience) a truckload of money for said rights.
What's he going to do with it, other than instantly open a second kickstarter?
I think there's room for more Duke Nukem.
@KitsuneNight
Maybe you should stay in the past.
@hste
What has the notoriously incompetent Gearbox team helmed by Randy Pitchfork done with the IP other than screwing over people who owned the prior release of 3D and shoehorning Duke into Bulletstorm? Their output is laughable.
@Azuris I mean the people who made ion fury once owned Duke Nukem so that would be a good fit.
@hste I have to agree - the guy would need a kickstarter just to buy the rights; he'd definitely need to go begging again somehow to actually make something with them. It reminds me of the peak/trough of personality-driven crowdfunders, before people in general started to wise up.
On the other hand, there is a high probability that the guy is simply tweeting out idle thoughts, without any intention of following up on them.
@madgears I agree with both of your replies
@hste it's not like he could do worse than what either 3d realms or gearbox did with him
@madgears you're mistaken about a few details, being that it was George Broussard of 3d realms was solely responsible for the state of DNF before Gearbox made it at least a product that could be deemed fit to release
The one true Duke is Clint from LGR, anyways.
@Alnothur He's the 2nd best VA for the Duke, anyway
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