Randy Pitchford: Duke Nukem Forever was an Anomaly

Duke Nukem Forever didn't get good reviews; it was panned by critics, some of whom had followed its development for the best part of a decade, for its immature humour and dated gameplay. Despite that, Randy Pitchford says the attitude displayed on the internet was at stark odds with what people were writing and telling them by mail.

“Duke Nukem Forever generated more loving fan mail than anything I’ve ever been involved with.

“It’s really an anomaly – I wouldn’t recommend using Duke Nukem Forever as a case study for any analysis of the games industry except, perhaps, as the most extreme example of an outlier or edge case.”

I haven't played enough to judge to be fair, the bits that I played via OnLive weren't too bad, just another shooter that's not especially bringing anything to the genre. The problem seemed to be just how excited people seemed to be after it was reannounced.