Important life lesson: Don't get your expectations too high. Never is this more apparent than with Duke Nukem Forever. Almost a decade and a half of waiting for what was promised to be Duke's biggest outing ever - and the title ultimately suffered under the weight of its own hype. For many the game failed to live up to their expectations - even if it could be argued that those fans expected a little too much.

Not that you could tell from the game sales, however, as the title has become the second most sold game of June 2011.

Despite numerous game reviews (read our Duke Nukem Forever review) bashing the game and stating that the title was a failure -  the Duke still went on to sell a ton of copies. According to NPD, the only title to outsell the game last month was the much-anticipated L.A. Noire - with PS3 exclusive InFamous 2 coming in at third.

Another big name title, Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, became the fifth most-sold title (and the most-sold on the 3DS). It was certainly a big month for old-school franchises.

Here is the full list, for those wondering:

  1. L.A. Noire
  2. Duke Nukem Forever
  3. InFamous 2
  4. Lego Pirates of the Caribbean
  5. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
  6. Call of Duty: Black Ops
  7. NBA 2K11
  8. Mortal Kombat
  9. Cars 2
  10. Just Dance 2

Despite some strong debuts, June wasn't a particularly good month for gaming. It turns out that sales have gone down from last year, with the total in June of 2010 around $1.15 billion - and sales this year at $1.03 billion. Granted, there can be numerous reasons behind this - most notably lack of interest in the current summer offerings, not to mention the downturn for the Wii-sales powerhouse.

Microsoft still managed to pull some impressive numbers - the Xbox 360 is the top selling console of the month, with 507,000 units sold. Microsoft, of course, claims that the number represents twice as many consoles sold as the competition - but whether or not that's true is up for debate.

Did you pick up Duke Nukem Forever? Why do you think the title sold so well despite its poor reception?

Duke Nukem Forever is out now for the Xbox 360, PS3, PC, and OnLive.

Source: NPD [via Joystiq]