Duke Nukem Devs Were More Worried About Borderlands

Borderlands is a fresh take on the first-person shooter. Even then, there was concern at developer Gearbox Software about the game standing out in the crowded FPS genre.

There seems to be less of that concern for upcoming (and forever-in-development) Duke Nukem Forever.

“You know I think it was more of a concern for Borderlands actually, because of the nature of that game. But with Duke we feel like it’s not like any other game,” says Gearbox’s Steve Gibson. “We look at your Call of Duty’s, Halo’s Gears of Wars… outside of being just a first-person shooter, it’s so different. I can’t imagine someone going to the store and thinking ‘Hmmm, do I want Gears of War 3 or do I want Duke Nukem Forever’.” The point won’t cancel each other out, says Gibson.

To make a point, I think Gibson is selling Borderlands somewhat short. The game was also a new title, and that is often hard for titles to stand out.

Gearbox is bullish on Duke Nuke Forever — as it should be. “Now the only question for gamers is ‘is it real?’, and do they still love the Duke? Hopefully when we get the demo out we’ll know.”

Duke Nukem Forever was developed by Dallas-based studio 3D Realms until last year. Since then, Brothers in Arms dev Gearbox Software has taken over development duties.

Duke Nukem Forever: Interview [Strategy Informer]