id Software and Bethesda Softworks parent ZeniMax sent shockwaves through the industry today by announcing that id has been acquired by ZeniMax and its games will be published by Bethesda. Reacting to the news on his Twitter page, John Romero, one of the co-founders of the company, simply stated "ZENIMAX??????? Disgusting." He then followed that up with "Fallout 3 bought DOOM. Wow."
Romero left id Software to found Ion Storm, where in 1997 the infamous Daikatana disaster took place. The game was supposed to have shipped that Fall but did not launch until 2000. To make matters worse, Romero in '97 issued his laughable advertisement for the game: "John Romero's About To Make You His Bitch. Suck it down." Later, in 2001, Romero founded Monkeystone Games, in 2003 he joined Midway Games, and in 2005 he started Slipgate Ironworks.
John Carmack explained the benefits of merging with Bethesda, and how it will enable a more steady pipeline of games. IndustryGamers feels it's a great move for both companies. And really, given John Romero's history, we don't think his opinion matters much.
Update: In yet another tweet, Romero has now backed down on his "disgusting" comment. He wrote, "I am positive about the Zenimax deal. My initial reaction was harsh. Sorry."
5 Comments
June 25, 2009
You can't take this one back, John. You made your true opinion crystal clear in your initial reaction.
June 25, 2009
id Software hasn't been relevant in video games for about 12 years.
June 25, 2009
TJ Spyke: What a strange world you live in in which the Quake 3 engine didn't power a large number of games through the first half of this decade. What color is the sky there? Who is president? Romero is a dolt, but that's no reason to assume that id isn't a valuable commodity.
June 18, 2010
Maybe Carmack can help Bethesda out with their graphics technology. The characters in ALL of the Bethesda games look completely retarded and they move terribly. Plus their "improved" 3rd person camera is still as useless as ever. How they've managed to make their characters seem to look and animate WORSE than Morrowind I can't imagine. Maybe it's just that the rendering has gotten better, but it's still impressive.
Welcome to 2009, guys. Try to fucking catch up. And Romero can suck it down, he's responsible for one of the most "disgusting" games ever created and has about as much room to talk on this subject as Dan Quayle does on spelling.
July 19, 2010
This article helps a lot. Thank you..
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edhardy