After Wired's in-depth article about the many delays of Duke Nukem Forever, gamers began to believe that an ongoing quest for perfection kept the highly anticipated title from their hands. In an effort to clear the air, Nukem’s original designer, George Broussard, has explained that it was instead the transference of the game to several different engines that led to the delays.

For a good amount of time, Duke Nukem struggled to gain footing as technology continued to develop and the title remained stagnant, but recently things began to look up.

Broussard states:

“I think what hurt us the most was licensing engines and trying to change them too much. [Things happen] and after delays the options are to continue or kill the game. I never wanted to kill the game. We got things turned around dramatically in 2007-2009, with a lot of new hires, and most of the game as it exists today was created in that timeframe.”

Finally, thanks to the helping hand of Gearbox Software, being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel has allowed everyone like Broussard to breathe a sigh of relief right there along with die hard Duke fans.

It’s a difficult task to write about Duke Nukem Forever without going into a long diatribe about the storied delays the game was forced to endure dating way back to 1997. Rather than get caught up in all of those hopefully long gone issues, let us rejoice in the fact that Duke Nukem Forever is real and it’s coming.

Moving forward the real questions in regards to Duke will revolve around whether the game’s troubled past will negatively impact its sales numbers. Not only has the title suffered through the years but it also is a game that might no longer be relevant. With gamers flocking to titles that promise realism in experience, would a game this over-the-top appeal to the masses? No matter who’s prepared and whose not, Duke is coming with a fresh pack of bubble gum.

Do you see Duke Nukem Forever, a title some 10+ years in development, as still viable in today’s gaming arena or would you have rather the title exist as simply one of gaming's urban legends?

Duke Nukem Forever is releasing early 2011 for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.

Source: Maximum PC (via VG247)