'Duke Nukem Forever was profitable for Take-Two," CEO says
"Despite its disappointing reviews, Duke Nukem Forever was profitable for Take-Two," company CEO Strauss Zelnick told investors during a conference call this evening. While disappointing might be a nice way of describing most of the game's reviews (here's ours!), it's no surprise that the title is selling well. After fourteen-years of waiting, audience interest in the title was massive and, poor reviews be damned, Duke earned a #2 spot on the month's NPD charts.
While Take-Two didn't bankroll those fourteen years of development, the publisher did sue Apogee over the unfinished game in 2009 claiming that it paid $12 million for the publishing rights to the title. The two settled in 2010 and then, just a few months later, Texas-based Gearbox Software announced it had purchased the game, the character, et al and resumed the publishing relationship with Take-Two.
