Pitchford admits that he is one such person, and that for him, Duke Nukem Forever isn’t just one of 2011’s most highly anticipated titles,it’s a glorious return to not only Duke’s roots - especially for fans who have followed the series on prior Sony consoles.

Speaking with the Official PlayStation Blog, Pitchford discusses his long and decorated career in the gaming world - and how it all began with Duke:

When Duke Nukem Forever looked like it was going to be lost in development hell forever, Pitchford and Gearbox stepped-in to carry the torch for the last leg of the race. The game series is legendary, and Forever has established its own mythos as well. Along with the lengthy string of delays came a correspondingly large number of rumors and conspiracy theories. After so long, Pitchford believes that Duke Nukem Forever deserves to be played by as many people as possible (though, what game designer doesn’t?).

Gearbox understood what had to be done, and according to Pitchford, that especially meant bringing Duke to the PS3:

Considering the Duke legacy, working on Forever was different from starting from scratch, and according to Pitchford, playing the 3D Realms build pointed him and the team in the right direction. The team had a deep love for the character and the prior titles in the series, and even though the job would be difficult, Gearbox felt obligated to finish the legendary un-finishable game. The group definitely had motivation - all but one of the original team members who worked on the 2001 Duke Nukem Forever trailer have joined Gearbox (or at least remained part of the Forever project). Of course, the game is huge, and Randy Pitchford reminds us that it isn’t just Gearbox and 3D Realms we have to thank for getting Duke Nukem Forever out the door.

Piranha Games also helped finish-up work on Forever - who took “point on building out the multiplayer game as well as preparing the game for PS3.” That said, Pitchford estimates that 3D Realms alone has invested 3,500 to 4,500 man-months into development of the game, and that Gearbox will have put in another 2,500 by the time it releases. The Gearbox exec put the size of the game in perspective by mentioning that Borderlands utilized 3,500 to 4,500 man-months.

If you’re still unconvinced about Duke Nukem Forever, Pitchford has one final pitch:

Duke Nukem Forever hits shelves on June 14th in North America.

Source: PlayStation Blog