Duke dev talks down Bulletstorm rivalry

By Fred Dutton Published 21 January, 2011

There's room for two OTT shooters.

A cursory glance at EA's forthcoming shooter Bulletstorm and the long-awaited Duke Nukem Forever, both due this Spring, reveals a fair few common themes: outrageous violence, enormous extraterrestrial bugs, giant biceps and enough F-bombs to make even Ray Winstone blush.

However, despite the similarities between the two shooters, Duke developer Gearbox Software has denied there's any rivalry between the two, insisting there's plenty of room on the shelf for both games.

"I don't think it matters to think about things in that way," studio boss Randy Pitchford told Eurogamer. "I think what matters is if a game is entertaining and if people want what it has to offer.

"Certainly there are constraints there where competition is a factor, but if market demand for a game is truly there, results can exceed even bold expectations regardless of how many other games are in the market at the same time."

Pitchford went on to cite Gearbox's first shipped game, Half-Life Opposing Force, as a case in point. Despite launching in 1999 within a month of both Quake 3 Arena and Unreal Tournament it was still a success for the fledgling developer.

"It turned out that all three games were very good and customers showed up for all of them," he explained. "As a result, all three of those games achieved sales that exceeded expectations even though they were launched right on top of one another.

"So I discovered long ago that competition isn't as big of a problem as many make it out to be. I have played Bulletstorm and it's going to be fine - it gets to have a couple of months to itself before Duke shows up and it's a great game."

So, promised Pitchford, is Duke Nukem Forever. "Without question, Duke Nukem Forever is absolutely worth it for every gamer to play it," he pledged, "not just to get that feeling of experiencing videogame history in the making but because the game is simply a LOT of fun."

You can find out for yourself when the game finally launches on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 3rd May. Bulletstorm, on the other hand, arrives on 22nd February.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (25) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • IMD1_Pk #1 1 year ago

    They are talking about a time where PC gamers were much more invested into their games. It was a time before piracy was higher than actual sales and a time when gamers were willing to buy multiple games within a short time frame. With the blockbuster push games get these days you always see the bigger names push out way more copies than anything released around the same time. Games like split second sell a bunch of copies while Blur fails gain any recognition from consumers due to big explosions and big production values split second has.

  • Eraysor #2 1 year ago

    Doesn't bother me; I'm glad there's a mini-revolt against the amount of "gritty realism" present in every genre at the moment. I mean, even SSX has been corrupted by the dark side...

  • Lunastra78 #3 1 year ago

    Shake it baby!

  • Raiten #4 1 year ago

    Time where pc gamers were more invested in their games? not like that has changed anywhere.
    The only real difference is how pc gamers and console gamers purchasing habits differ. While if companies like in the news hapened to release similiar games compeating with each others on pc, there'd allways be enough sales for each game.
    Mostly because pc gamers purchase what they felt is best for them, not lapping up to a single hyped release their friends might've purchased.

    While on consoles people tend to lap up to single big release happily ignoring any other releases, split second, blur and rdr being a good example oh such a situation, ofcourse console game prices have something to do with it also, but if you've watched the trends, all it takes is one overly hyped game series *cough* cod *cough* and console gamers will ignore any other good games released.

    But more on the topic, i think we could do with more fps games like bulletstorm and DNF, i'm sick and tired of "realistic" shooters, someone should bury that particular fps genre somewhere where teh sun aint shinin'

  • altitude2k #5 1 year ago

    Something tells me that Bulletstorm is going to be a lot better.

  • ProtoformX #6 1 year ago

    I think I'll have space on my shelf - as a rule of thumb I've never been a fan of realistic shooters so 2 OTT ones so close together is great for me. Who needs a sniper rifle when you can have a gun that fires black holes?!

  • makeamazing #7 1 year ago

    I think there is no doubt from the stuff we have seen that Bulletstorm will be better polished, but I dont see either affecting the other in terms of stealing sales. The market is big enough to handle both with that kind of time gap.

    I would be more concerned with LA Noire taking the oxygen out of the games market when that is released, it may do a RDR, when many games released around the same time last year, the sales were quite bad, and these were games of a different genre. Though admittedly three games were racing games, which probably didn't help themselves.

  • GiarcYekrub #8 1 year ago

    I'll get both

  • lockload #9 1 year ago

    Total non story eurogamer making up news again they are released months apart

  • RobotRocker #10 1 year ago

    Duke will be fine as long as it's good.

    Always Bet On Duke

  • Haloboy #11 1 year ago

    First time I ever even knew there was rivalry was when I read about it on here just now. Which means there isn't any and I'm wasting my breath.

  • marmaduke #12 1 year ago

    I hate to say it but I think Bulletstorm is going to wipe the floor with DNF.

  • patchbox360 #13 1 year ago

    time to kick ass and chew bubble gum

  • ISmoke #14 1 year ago

    Very excited for both. Fed up of fighting the same old war in the same way. If i fire another believable round from another believable gun i'm going to cry

  • neoman #15 1 year ago

    12 fkn years? i thought it has been around 14 years

  • jonsaan #16 1 year ago

    Bulletstorm is right up there with the worst game names ever frankly.

  • Zaiz #17 1 year ago

    Wait, Modern Warfare 2 wasn't over the top? That was a game where a normal guy grabs another normal guy and -tackles him out a fourth floor window and into a car-.

  • Silvervein #18 1 year ago

    @zaiz
    That's a hollywood movie over the top. Game over the top would be when a guy tackles another guy, and sends him flying through whole building, the next one too, and then makes a hole in a passing jet plane, leaving a trail of score numbers behind him.

  • lockload #19 1 year ago

    LA Noir is out virtually the same time as duke they should worry about that not a game out 2.5 months earlier

    This whole set of 'marketing' articles by eurogamer is laughable they are clearly sponsored articles
    Edited by lockload at 23/01/11 @ 09:48

  • retr0gamer #20 1 year ago

    Unfortunately while Duke is a dumb shooter Bulletstorm with it's scoring mechanics and amazing multiplayer is one of the best and most unique games I've played

  • NewbieZilla #21 1 year ago

    "LA Noir is out virtually the same time as duke they should worry about that not a game out 2.5 months earlier "

    As hyped for the game as I am, and I'm very hyped. I don't think it will be that much a problem for Duke. This is coming from someone who couldn't give a toss about Duke, so don't think that has anything to do with it. The thing is, to most gamers, LA Noire will be in the "Not GTA, don't care" camp, I expect.

    For my part? Really looking forward to a noirish game with (as I see it) such promise. I just don't expect the sales one might expect on account of its Rockstar ties.

    Edit: Speaking of LA Noire, new video tomorrow. Apparently announcing a release date of May 17th. That'll give me plenty of time to get through DA2 a good few times.
    Edited by NewbieZilla at 23/01/11 @ 13:21

  • magicpanda #22 1 year ago

    BALLS OF STEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEL

  • spekkeh #23 1 year ago

    Bulletstorm may turn out to be the better game, if the respective hands-ons are anything to go by, however the more I see it, the more it starts getting a bit too juvenile for my liking. All pretty Gears of War reminiscent. Duke Nukem on the other hand looks like pure fun, with all the right amount of cartooniness.

  • RoaringPanda #24 1 year ago

    HAIL TO THE KING BABY

  • AdamAsunder #25 1 year ago

    I'd still hit it.

    Even if DNF turns out shite, that's probably one of the best quips I've heard in a long time.