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Duke Nukem may (probably) not come out this year

by: Chuck -
More On: Duke Nukem Forever
The folks at 3D Realms have posted a response to the article from the Dallas Business Journal yesterday stating that there is still no fixed date for when Duke Nukem Forever is going to be released.  The date is still "When it's done" which could mean 2008, 2009, or whenever the folks at 3D Realms actually figure out how to write and design software to anything resembling a proper methodology. 

The game has been a running joke/rooster tease since it was announced well over a decade ago and not to go off on a rant here but it's become clear that the folks at 3D Realms have no concept of "deadline", "scope management", or "restraint".  If any other developer in the world had the franchise we'd be playing Duke Nukem Forever 3 by now but unfortunately the franchise is saddled with a management team that has one of the worst rectal/cranial inversions I've ever seen in software development.  I've worked with state agencies who have more of a sense of purpose/urgency than the folks at 3D Realms.

I get that they want to do the right thing and deliver the best quality product but at some point you have to draw a line in the sand, develop to a spec, and ship a product.  Instead the folks at 3D Realms have meandered around like just out of college programmers and along the way they've burned through God knows how much money.  I know it's their money but you have to wonder how many other games could have been made with what's been spent on making DNF, how many cool games could have been brought to market with the untold millions 3D Realms has burned through developing a game that may no longer have a place in the market.