By Quintin Smith on February 11th, 2011 at 9:26 am.
UPDATE: Confirmed as real, though it’ll be available in America only and just here from Amazon.com.
The above image was posted on the French Duke Nukem Forever forums last night. I’m still running it through the RPS Bullshit-O-Tron, but figure even if it’s fake it’s an entertaining fake. And I keep thinking back to that IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover Collector’s Edition image that leaked and turned out to be real. HMM. I’ve run through what look to be the contents after the jump, or you can click on the picture for a slightly bigger one of it. Or both! Do both.
So, the Duke Nukem Forever Collector’s Edition may or may not contain:
- The game! Always a nice thing to have in a Collector’s Edition, I find. It’d be embarrassing to go into a shop a say “Hello, I’d like to buy £80 of promotional tat and also the object they are advertising, please!”
- A bust of Duke Nukem with “Carpe Nukem” on the base. In case you never wanted to have sex ever again.
- “History, Legacy & Legend” DNF art book. I really hope you open this up and it’s just a single A2 fold-out picture of the Duke raising a middle finger at the reader.
- A DNF comic book. Maybe it’s written by Kieron! It’s probably not written by Kieron as the cover is not misspelled.
- A certificate of authenticity with the number “2,000″ clearly visible. Will they only be selling 2,000 collectors editions? Is it possible for there to be only 2,000 copies of something which doesn’t exist? Do you think this is real, readers? Why am I asking so many questions?
- Soem DICE
- A deck o f CARDS
- Two (2) poker chips. In case you wanted to conduct the world’s smallest and most miserly game of poker. “I’m… ALL in!” “Steven you only have one chi–” “SHUT UP CARLOS.”
- A sticker, in case you felt something in your life did not have enough advertisements on it already. If you were wondering, yes, I am a communist.
- Four postcards. One is from space! Silly Duke, you can’t send a postcard from space.
- A big box! This is my favourite part.
So there you have it. And by “it” I mean something that potentially may not exist. Thanks to RPS reader “LW” for sending this in. LW, if this turns out to be fake I’m blaming you.
11/02/2011 at 09:27 Avenger says:
I call photoshopped…
11/02/2011 at 10:39 battles_atlas says:
Its definitely photoshopped – the dice and card’s shadows don’t line up for a start. Doesn’t necessarily mean the set isn’t real though.
11/02/2011 at 12:28 Bhazor says:
The bust does seem to be floating a little off the table.
11/02/2011 at 14:37 Teddy Leach says:
Ah, you silly doubters…
11/02/2011 at 16:27 Jacques says:
In product photography, you’ll usually have more than one light source.
11/02/2011 at 20:19 battles_atlas says:
More than one light source that selectively interacts with multiple objects on the same plane?
11/02/2011 at 09:31 Greg Wild says:
I love promotional tat. It is exactly what makes games worth playing.
Some people have too much money. Or no sense.
11/02/2011 at 09:32 phlebas says:
A ‘Balls of Steel’ edition that doesn’t include a single steel ball? That doesn’t work!
11/02/2011 at 09:38 DSR says:
We’ve been waiting for so long, they could’ve put at least two of them there.
11/02/2011 at 09:40 mistwolf says:
DNF truck nutz?
11/02/2011 at 11:11 ZIGS says:
Instead of a bust, it should be a huge steel scrotum
11/02/2011 at 11:56 Kryopsis says:
We’re talking about Duke Nukem here. They wouldn’t fit in the box!
11/02/2011 at 12:44 diebroken says:
Exactly, they should have a set of balls, be it steel ones or brass as in Glengarry Glen Ross… for shame!
http://media.photobucket.com/image/glengarry%20glen%20ross%20balls/thepestilence123/vlcsnap-37336.png
11/02/2011 at 18:52 Jim Reaper says:
Dammit! I saw the headline and the first thing that popped in my head was the “Balls of Steel” pinball game made by 3D Realms. I am now dissapoint that this has absolutely nothing to do with it….!
http://www.3drealms.com/balls/index.html
11/02/2011 at 09:34 Tori says:
Look real and good!
Quintin, this article made me laugh at loud, my co-workers are looking funny at me. Thanks.
11/02/2011 at 09:34 Inigo says:
“Seize Nukem?”
11/02/2011 at 12:22 VelvetFistIronGlove says:
Dear oh dear, you need to brush up on your Latin.
nuces, nucei (sometimes nukes). [ˈnʊː keɪs] n. m. The male sperm-producing organ; testis or testicle. carpe nucem “sieze the balls”.
11/02/2011 at 14:29 Sarlix says:
Now, write it out a hundred times.
And if it’s not done by sunrise, I’ll cut your balls off.
11/02/2011 at 09:35 RiptoR says:
First you write “It’s probably not written by Kieron as the cover is not misspelled.”, only to follow it with at least 3 typo’s in your own text… :D
11/02/2011 at 09:39 Quintin Smith says:
Oh no! Only two of those are deliberate. What’s the third?
11/02/2011 at 09:41 Nick says:
‘on chip’ pehaps?
11/02/2011 at 09:43 Quintin Smith says:
Right. Fixed.
11/02/2011 at 10:28 stahlwerk says:
What is typo doing there? ;-)
11/02/2011 at 10:43 RiptoR says:
I loev dilibirite taipo’s :D
Sorry, couldn’t resist… I’ll be quiet now…
11/02/2011 at 12:54 Malawi Frontier Guard says:
Every post correcting the grammar of another must contain at least one error of its own. Rules of the Internet.
11/02/2011 at 18:49 PleasingFungus says:
“Soem DICE”?
You really are the new Kieron, Quinns.
11/02/2011 at 09:38 RegisteredUser says:
Guess those balls are so heavy he couldn’t carry any more than the two alloted guns this crippled Duke now has.
I suspect the limit to only two poker chips accordingly makes 100% sense parallel to this.
Also: Seize/use the Nukem? Isn’t that akin to saying hump the Duke from behind? Wouldn’t it in turn not be about not having any more sex, but more about having more GAY sex?
..
It does not show that I disagree with the slot restriction or feel that it is ruining a perfectly good franchise, does it?
11/02/2011 at 18:58 Urthman says:
Guess those balls are so heavy he couldn’t carry any more than the two allotted guns this crippled Duke now has.
Is that confirmed, or is it just assumed based on the overall gearsofwarification of Duke?
17/02/2011 at 10:35 RegisteredUser says:
This has been confirmed and protested with over 1000 posts in their forum with over 80% votes against it, and GBX just giving the community the finger and one of them publicly making fun over it and Bulletstorm having it as well.
11/02/2011 at 09:38 JiminyJickers says:
I don’t know, the photo does’t seem entirely real. The lighting looks a bit funny to me.
11/02/2011 at 10:05 JB says:
I have to agree. Some of the angles don’t look quite right. And something about the playing cards.
It may be an accurate representation of the pack, just a artist-rendered representation. Or it might just be a big old fake. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
11/02/2011 at 10:20 Giant, fussy whingebag says:
I’m with you guys on this. The base of the bust is what stood out to me; it just looks wrong with that certificate underneath…
11/02/2011 at 10:24 adonf says:
The perspective on the bust is odd.
11/02/2011 at 09:41 Spacewalk says:
zing!
11/02/2011 at 09:41 mistwolf says:
Only being a socialist, I like stickers. Someday I hope to graduate to proper communism and not want them.
11/02/2011 at 09:55 godkingemperor says:
ill get this, paint the duke, and take him to warhammer tournaments.
11/02/2011 at 09:59 Greg Wild says:
And yet despite being part of a £80 set, it’ll still be cheaper than any other 3000 point army.
11/02/2011 at 10:29 skurmedel says:
You should totally paint him pink and see if you can still participate. Some armies are really sloppy, just dunked in a colour. What’s the point of having a requirement of armies having to be painted if you can just paint them in one colour?
11/02/2011 at 10:05 bill says:
I think it’d be funny if they stopped including the game in these kind of totally ott collector’s editions. It seems incidental.
What do people DO with all the tat that they pay a fortune for? All the master chief helmets and busts. Other than put them in their room and never have sex again. Or hide them in a box somewhere.
11/02/2011 at 10:08 vodka and cookies says:
Duke giving the finger in the art book is a fantastic idea, they really should have done that or even better as a hologram [closest thing to an animated GIF I guess].
11/02/2011 at 10:26 skurmedel says:
It’s rather fake. The art book is minuscule. There are other scaling issues. Several items are not in perspective; compare the bust (with the strange shadow) with the certificate, the deck of cards, so forth.
11/02/2011 at 10:32 mondomau says:
It is teh fakezorz: even if certain elements are genuine, the layout / perspective is all wrong and the shadows are very dodgy.
11/02/2011 at 10:34 GallonOfAlan says:
Those poker chips definitely look ‘shopped.
11/02/2011 at 11:12 ZIGS says:
Of course it’s fake, where are the 36 DVDs that are supposed to be the making of?
11/02/2011 at 11:51 Avenger says:
This hurts…
11/02/2011 at 12:37 PeopleLikeFrank says:
Exclusive! Watch over 50,000 hours of 3DRealms staff playing World of Warcraft!
Sold.
11/02/2011 at 11:40 Optimaximal says:
Was I the only one disappointed that the ‘IL-2: Cliffs of Dover’ Collectors Edition didn’t include a 1:50 scale model of the Cliffs of Dover?
11/02/2011 at 12:24 Xiyng says:
Fake or not, it’s actually pretty impressive for a collector’s edition. There’s actually some value instead of some cheap in-game costume or a retarded locked-from-others ‘exclusive’ level that’s not worth the money but would still be nice to play.
I certainly can’t afford that but if I could, I would probably get a CE like that.
11/02/2011 at 12:54 NemsMole says:
The image itself looks fake but that’d be a whole lot of work for something that’ll be confirmed or denied relatively quickly.
The image seems to be originally from here
http://www.jeuxvideo.com/news/2011/00048769-duke-nukem-forever-une-edition-collector-limitee.htm
Now obviously this doesn’t name any sources beyond “2K has just announced” but it wouldn’t be the first time something like this has leaked. We’ll see for sure soon enough.
11/02/2011 at 13:25 CMaster says:
The image is pretty obviously photoshopped.
However, I just got a “Duke Nukem First Access Club” email promoting it, so I guess it is real.
11/02/2011 at 13:26 The Lord of Leisure says:
Indeed the email just came through on mine as well, with the same image with this text:
Are you ready for this? As a member of the First Access Club, you’re among the first to learn of the Duke Nukem Forever Balls of Steel Edition that will be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC alongside the standard edition of Duke Nukem Forever on May 3 (North America) and May 6 (International). Quantities will be limited, so make sure to pre-order your copy from a participating retailer today!
11/02/2011 at 13:50 thegooseking says:
Of course it’s real. It has a certificate of authenticity! Would a not-real thing have one of those? I think not.
11/02/2011 at 13:28 McDan says:
Whilst I was watching the trailer for the new lego star wars game I got an advert on the video promoting chrome balls, coincidence? I think not!
11/02/2011 at 14:39 mistwolf says:
Shockingly, this is legit. I just got the email from the first access club about it.
11/02/2011 at 15:55 Tatourmi says:
I only want two things of this pack: The cards and the dice. Screw the rest!
11/02/2011 at 16:39 Xiyng says:
Pretty funny how many of you thought it was a fake when in fact it was not :P
11/02/2011 at 16:48 patricij says:
I’ll laugh with you when we really see it released ;)
11/02/2011 at 16:44 Navagon says:
Fake or not it’s definitely influenced by the Witcher 2 Collector’s Edition.
11/02/2011 at 17:09 Keep says:
The contents may be real, but the image is definitely shopped.
Look at the book and dvd case. Look at the the cards and dice. The book & dvd case would have to be tilted forward more in order to be on the same surface as the cards & dice.
Look at the shadows on the bust. Look at the shadow it casts on the postcards. It seems to be levitating ever so slightly.
Look at the tilt of the base of the bust. Look at the tilt of the postcards. These items are not on the same surface.
Look at the reflection of all the objects on the surface. Just look at them :-|.
/nitpicking
(You don’t need to know photoshop in order to spot fakery. Much better to know some basic draftsmanship, perspective, etc.)
11/02/2011 at 17:33 Moonracer says:
history/art book should be a collection of all the “coming soon” images with the date image was originally released. a bonus dvd with the teaser trailers over the years would be interesting too.
the truck balls Idea is the best I’ve heard missing so far. Gamers with truck balls on their cars would be brilliant. And somewhat appropriate for the type of gamer that will actually buy and play this game.
11/02/2011 at 17:37 Shagittarius says:
Too bad the release date ins’t April 1.
11/02/2011 at 17:57 Jacques says:
Well, Amazon now thinks it’s real.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003O6E8UA/amazon0b53-20/
11/02/2011 at 20:47 MikoSquiz says:
Ugh. If anyone I know buys this, I’m just going to quietly delete them from my phone and e-mail address book.
11/02/2011 at 21:01 NemsMole says:
Blow it out yer ass
12/02/2011 at 07:30 Gabbo says:
All i wanted was a dvd/bluray making of and if possible playable demos of the previous builds – I really don’t want any of the other things. Sadly, I’ve been waiting long enough, I’ll still likely get this, if it’s real.
12/02/2011 at 08:24 elmuerte says:
So the rest of the world gets the shaft again. :/
14/02/2011 at 09:31 Mister_Inveigler says:
Yet again, no love for the rest of the world?
Don’t mind me, I’ll just be sitting in the corner, hugging my knees and rocking slightly, muttering about the absence of bubblegum
17/02/2011 at 10:36 RegisteredUser says:
All y’all “this is soooo faek and imma so kewl coz ima sayin it” be lookin’ pretty stupid rite nao.