In an interview with Eurogamer, Randy Pitchford spoke excitedly about the upcoming Duke Nukem Forever but kept his distance when asked about the game’s vision. “No, it’s not my game,” Pitchford said. “My commitment is to make sure that I and you and we all finally get to play the game we’ve been waiting for all this time. So the commitment that I’ve made with my studio is to make sure 3D Realms’ vision is realized.”
Pitchford seems to be suggesting in case the game flops, Gearbox can distance themselves from the project. However, Pitchford sounds incredibly enthusiastic about the game. During the interview, the issue of the game’s somewhat-dated graphics put Pitchford on the defensive. “The game pushes the system to its absolute maximum,” he claimed. “How many different reactions the enemies have when you’re hitting them, being able to shrink them down, freezing and breaking them to ice cubes, playing with the tools in the environment. When you sum all that up, it’s a different use of system resources, but it’s maximizing the system.”
When asked whether he thought the game will sell, Pitchford assumed a position of authority. “Well, I made a decision to purchase the franchise and to become the responsible party for shipping the unshippable,” he explained. “I made the bet with a lot less information than I have today. When I made the bet, we were still in 2009. I think my crystal ball is pretty good for me on that one.”
As the June 5 deadline draws nearer, Duke continues to remain a bit of a mystery for everyone but the team at Gearbox. Will it succeed as a curiosity or as a great game? Will it fail and fade into obscurity after all these years? Whatever happens, I suspect Gearbox and Pitchford will be singing a different tune once the saga comes to a close.
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