Once More for Old Time’s Sake, Duke Nukem Forever Delayed

By  |  Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 7:43 pm

I’m still kind of hoping Duke Nukem Forever never gets released, but that’s not going to happen.

However, the first-person shooter will relive its vaporware days one last time, with 2K Games announcing what it calls the “shortest delay in the history of Duke Nukem Forever.” Once scheduled for May 3, the game has been pushed back to June 10 internationally and June 14 in North America.

The folks at 2K are taking it in stride. “We thank Duke’s fans for their continued patience – I promise this won’t take another 15 years,” 2K Games President Christoph Hartmann said in a statement.

Duke Nukem Forever was resurrected last year after 2K resolved a legal dispute over publishing rights with the game’s original developer, 3D Realms. That studio disbanded in May 2009, reportedly over funding disagreements with 2K parent company Take-Two Interactive, thus ending 12 years of development.

The revived game takes the manly humor of 1996’s Duke Nukem 3D and pushes it way over the top, with topless women, drinking, drugs and plenty of sexual innuendo. Joystiq’s Justin McElroy joking described Duke Nukem Forever’s ESRB rating as an “erotic novella.”

None of that stuff bothers me, so why my negative outlook? Because at some point, Duke Nukem Forever stopped being a video game and started being an example of the game industry’s huge technological leaps, and one development studio’s inability to keep up. No matter how good the finished product is, it can never really be worth the wait.

 
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  1. Gary Corbett Says:
    March 25th, 2011 at 1:48 pm

    Agreed the game itself is going to be underwhelming and can't match the press its been given. It's best kept as a long running Joke to gamers and the industry. I'd also wager this will be delayed yet again before the world gets to play it.