Pitchford: Duke wouldn't hurt a woman

By Johnny Minkley Published 10 June, 2011

Finds Capture The Babe outrage "offensive".

Gearbox chief Randy Pitchford has reacted angrily to criticism of the portrayal of women in Duke Nukem Forever's controversial "Capture The Babe" multiplayer mode.

Speaking to Eurogamer in an exclusive interview published today, Pitchford hit out at claims the game tacitly endorsed violence against women, stating: "The minute you try to suggest that Duke would himself commit an act of violence against a woman just because she's a woman, or advocate that, that's offensive to me."

The source of the row is a gameplay mechanic in the game's twist on classic Capture The Flag, where the player grabs a girl and throws her over his shoulder. An on-screen prompt appears enabling the player to "spank" the girl to stop her from impeding progress.

But Pitchford was insistent that the criticisms represented a misreading of context that misunderstood the nature of the franchise.

"Duke is a Hugh Hefner kind of character – he's absolutely not a Chris Brown kind of character," he said. US R&B artist Brown was prosecuted in 2009 after admitting charges of domestic violence against popstar girlfriend Rihanna.

"I think Duke would kick that guy's ass," said Pitchford. "That guy's not a man, he's an asshole. And I think Duke would hate a guy like that.

"His whole purpose for living is to be loved and hailed as the king. Without that he ceases to exist. So the idea that he would hold anything against any person, not just through gender, but for race, religion or anything, is absurd."

He added: "It just doesn't make sense in the ethos of his world. That's where I'm actually offended by the association some have tried to make."

Pitchford further denied that the name of the multiplayer mode was intended to stoke controversy. "It's not supposed to be provocative, it's a Duke play on Capture the Flag, so the name has to be derived from Capture the Flag," he said.

"There's this line somewhere where on one side of it nobody even raises an eyebrow... And then on the other side there's, 'Oh those people should be in jail'.

"The line itself is okay, the line is a fuzzy, amorphous line and that's where Duke lives. He lives in that realm there between what is absolutely wrong and what is not even in question."

After 14 years in development, Duke Nukem Forever launched today across Europe.

Picture of Johnny.

About Johnny Minkley

Johnny Minkley is a veteran games writer and broadcaster, former editor of Eurogamer TV, VP of gaming charity SpecialEffect, and hopeless social media addict.

Read more articles from Johnny by visiting the Johnny Minkley archive page.

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Comments (64) Latest comment 12 months ago

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

  • Fozzie_bear #1 12 months ago

    Is this a good opportunity to call Rob Fahey a cunt?

  • DeeTee_uk #2 12 months ago

    You have a game where you slap the "babe" to keep her quiet. That's not suggesting anything Randy, that's it. It's what you put in the game. That, as well as your limp defence, is offensive to me.

  • anthonypappa #3 12 months ago

    haha, making sure that mud he tries so desperately to shift sticks to chris brown, well done.

    hate that cunt.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #4 12 months ago

    It's a game mechanic that involves violence towards women that's sufficient to control their behaviour.

    And that is not cool.

  • darkmorgado #5 12 months ago

    How long before we get a "they didn't understand it" comment when all the shit reviews start flooding in?

  • midnight_walker #6 12 months ago

    So now that it's cool to hate Duke, when previously we were wanking ourselves into a frenzy in anticipation, is it now cool to brand Duke a Chris-Brown-esque woman beating misogynist, where previously he was just your typical comedy OTT Macho character?

    MY, how the comments have changed since Rob's article.
    Edited by midnight_walker at 10/06/11 @ 14:42

  • Crea #7 12 months ago

    I'm offended that he's offended that people were offended by the inoffensive Capture The Babe.

  • Freek #8 12 months ago

    Playfull slap on the botttom from what is, in that setting, the greatest man on the planet, isn't really the same thing as beating up women and advocating violence against them.

    Inapropriate joke? Perhaps, but lets not overreact here.

  • Instinct #9 12 months ago

    Chris Brown offended by Duke Nukem game. He suggests a beaten-up mugshot of the 'babe' at the end of the game.

  • Centrifugal #10 12 months ago

    This whole thing is absurd.

    We all know that it's Chris Brown who tries to be a Duke character. And he goes about it in the wrong way.
    Edited by Centrifugal at 10/06/11 @ 14:51

  • Waffleaber #11 12 months ago

    "The minute you try to suggest that Duke would himself commit an act of violence against a woman just because she's a woman"

    "An on-screen prompt appears enabling the player to "spank" the girl to stop her from impeding progress"

    There you go, it's not just because she's a woman. So next time your missus wants to watch x-factor when you're gaming give her a slap from Randy and tell her to stop impeding your in game progress.
    Edited by Waffleaber at 10/06/11 @ 14:48

  • photoboy #12 12 months ago

    Well said, Randy. Couldn't agree more.

  • darkmorgado #13 12 months ago

    There is a distinction to be made between a sexist character, and a sexist game.

    Unfortunately, the more and more they try to defend the objectification of women, they slapping of women, etc, it seems that the latter is true. If they had just said "look, it's Duke Nukem, that's just how he is and we don't condone that", or perhaps included just as many jokes laughing at his behaviour (similar to the Goldeneye film) and ridiculing him, then they might have got away with the former. But the way they celebrate and defend his behaviour, both in the game and in real life, sits very uncomfortably.
    Edited by darkmorgado at 10/06/11 @ 14:53

  • IIJAZMANII #14 12 months ago

    If you really hate that "asshole" how about putting him in the game so we can bitch slap him everytime we see his punk ass!

    I dont mind it tbh, I've slapped my girls ass a few times to keep her in check :p

  • Lamb #15 12 months ago

    Duke is a paragon of goodness!!! How many times does he have to prove that???

  • Tryhard #16 12 months ago

    Its a caveman thing.Its history.Capture woman.Throw her over your shoulder.Slap her bottom.Run as fast as you can to your cave.It has got all to complicated these days.

  • Hermiod #17 12 months ago

    I've lost count of the number of female television characters who show how 'empowered' they are by punching a male character in the face.

    But female-on-male violence is okay, isn't it?

  • geeza2020 #18 12 months ago

    My sister was in a marriage that ended due to her husband becoming violent, and I find it offensive that anybody could possibly find the light-hearted, comedic bottom slapping in DNF akin to domestic violence. Some people really do like to get offended by things they dont have the slightest clue about.

  • DirectAim #19 12 months ago

    some people need to relax a little

  • masterson #20 12 months ago

    "Capture the Slag" would have worked better for the UK (and probably got them into even more trouble)

  • schnide #21 12 months ago

    Repeating my comment from the main thread, on the very, very slim chance that Pitchford ever reads this:

    ""Duke is... Absolutely not a Chris Brown kind of character. I think Duke would kick that guy's ass. That guy's not a man, he's an asshole. And I think Duke would hate a guy like that. That's where I'm actually offended by the association some have tried to make."

    I suppose some (I think I'm about to board the Good Ship Neg but it doesn't change my view) would say that as soon as you make it acceptable to make physical contact with a woman without her permission, in any context, that line has started to blur.

  • Markusdragon #22 12 months ago

    Okay, the simple question here is, if the Duke had to rescue a guy panicking in the same manner, would he spank that person on the ass to calm him down too?

    No? Sexism.

    But then, this is a game that's full of comedically inappropriate sexism, and it's funny because it's inappropriate and exaggerated, not because sexism is intrinsically funny. People aren't going to look at the game and say 'that's how I should act', they're going to look at the game, giggle immaturely and say 'that's just wrong'.

  • geeza2020 #23 12 months ago

    Any physical contact? You must be a lonely man.

  • Zozzilla #24 12 months ago

    This is completely unrelated but isn't Johnny the guy who does the game stuff on Radio 1?

  • darkmorgado #25 12 months ago

    Yes he is.

  • SAMagic #26 12 months ago

    Okay, the simple question here is, if the Duke had to rescue a guy panicking in the same manner, would he spank that person on the ass to calm him down too?

    No? Sexism.
    No, he wouldn't because he's hetrosexual.

    He'd probably give the guy a beer and force him to chug it down.

    Hey, this could be DLC - get Gearbox on the blower, I'm going to make a mint!

  • coolbritannia #27 12 months ago

    Yep, Pitchfork is right, everyone trying to claim this as something it's not are failing hard. I wonder if these are the same people who complain that you can't kill kids in Fallout?

    I playful spank on the ass is not domestic violence, if you weren't virgins you'd know this.

  • a8a #28 12 months ago

    Any physical contact? You must be a lonely man.

    Without her permission? Im not sure that youre methods of staving off lonelieness are entirely wholesome!

  • bemaniac #29 12 months ago

    Lol when anyone says I'm being a dick I deflect the mud to Chris Brown too. We all do it!

  • whatfruit #30 12 months ago

    Poor Chris Brown. His name is forever going to synomnous with woman beating.

  • Innes #31 12 months ago

    Randy is right. Majority of the commenters here cant take a joke obviously plus its a not a real woman. Fucking white knights just try and take the duke on. Protip: Not gonna get laid from a polygonal lady.

  • coolbritannia #32 12 months ago

    ha ha, Innes, +10

  • Inmediasress #33 12 months ago

    I don't know slapping some one on the arse is violence?????
    Well if they do that till they bleed or have serious bruises but a slap come on.
    Not that there aren't hundreds of porn movies with excessive violence towards women.
    They should start with those.

  • Innes #34 12 months ago

    I agree. I can confirm I have convened the national porn watching association we seek and report on any violence in porno films. Send your films to us.

  • jimr9999us #35 12 months ago

    "What do a hundred battered women have in common?"


    "They didn't know when to shut up."

  • Mister-Wario #36 12 months ago

    Well, I'm going to get into this debate again, but I think Manly Guys Doing Manly Things did an interesting comic on the matter. Check it out.

    Actually, I do have one question. How many of the commenters here are men?
    Edited by Mister-Wario at 10/06/11 @ 16:37

  • Spence1115 #37 12 months ago

    So, review?

  • RodHull #38 12 months ago

    If Duke Nukem was set in the real world and not the fantastical and nonsensical realm that he inhabits then this would be offensive. As it is I really don't see this as a problem due to the absurdity of the Duke. If the Duke was doing this in a suburban setting in the early 21st century then it should rightly be derided.

    I find the realistic setting of the violence in Call of Duty games far more offensive than this Austin Powers type parody.

  • nuanimal #39 12 months ago

    "Duke is a Hugh Hefner kind of character – he's absolutely not a Chris Brown kind of character,"

    Quote of the week right there.

  • Phantom_Dynamite #40 12 months ago

    For some reason I picture him giving this interview with Prodigy's Smack my bitch up playing in the background.

  • kristo #41 12 months ago

    Honestly, lots of girls like a bit of a spank, I don't think he's really punishing them. I always love the "White Knight" syndrome some many guys get on the internets. It's almost like if they act like complete pussy whipped little bitches, maybe, MAYBE some girl will notice and be impressed.

    Some people also need to learn the difference between fantasy and reality.

    Even better, I'm sure they cry foul here, then click into incognito mode and off to the porn tubes.

  • whatfruit #42 12 months ago

    @jimr9999us

    I think you may have the joke confused. its

    "what do you say to a woman with two black eyes?"

    "Nothing you have already told her twice/"

  • stryker1121 #43 12 months ago

    Pitchford should have said Duke's "not a Pat Bateman type" instead of comparing him to C Brown. As usual this is getting blown out of proportion by non-gaming media. Maybe i'd agree the mode is inappropriate but when has a Duke game ever been appropriate? Context, people, context. To take the leap and say a digital spank on the ass promotes violence against women is hand-wringing sensationalism.

  • arcam #44 12 months ago

    As usual this is getting blown out of proportion by non-gaming media.

    Bah, this is barely registering on radar of 'real' news. The gaming specialist media do a perfectly good job of creating a drama themselves.

  • Power_n_Glory #45 12 months ago

    Nothing in common with Chris Brown. How about Arnold Schwarzenegger! Lol

  • rotsujin #46 12 months ago

    Give it a rest Randy, you're such a shill.

  • grussbarbar #47 12 months ago

    That's a perfectly valid defense by mr. Pitchford.

    As for those claims: Need for Speed doesn't tacitly endorse ramming police cars off the road, and No More Heroes doesn't tacitly endorse slicing up people. That's just how those game worlds work and that's fully accepted. Heck, even fighting games don't get this bad press. If you use Hayate to completely beat up his sister Kasumi in Dead or Alive, surely that should be several levels worse than what The Duke does.

    Context is everything. I imagine it's just a simple spank, which would fit right into a game that's filled to the brim with immature content. If so, the gaming press should stop reporting on this, since then it's been blown way out of proportion and continuing this will only distract from discussing what's really important. Like whether the game is fun or not.

  • RoaringPanda #48 12 months ago

    You see, I don't take offense to the spanking thing, it's meant as a playful sexual thing, not abuse. However, I did find the level where you have naked women imprisoned in the Duke dome, before the Queen Bitch fight, pretty shitty. The way you had to kill the women before they exploded with little enemies. With them being naked and all it felt like they were trying to add pornography to the violence... The combo made me feel kind of uncomfortable.
    Edited by RoaringPanda at 10/06/11 @ 23:11

  • metalangel #49 12 months ago

    If spanking is violence, then pinching must be GBH. In that case, I want the girl who pinched my butt as I crossed the dancefloor in Cardiff Students Union in 1999 to be locked up for the full five years. You'll have to figure out what her name was, though, I have no idea.

  • AaronTurner #50 12 months ago

    The squeelings of a man that's just realised he's poured millions into buying a reprehensible character and a worthless franchise.

  • metalangel #51 12 months ago

    Would Duke hurt a Puma Slipper Woman?

  • goatjugsoup #52 12 months ago

    I don't even care about this game but because of this statement:
    ""Duke is a Hugh Hefner kind of character – he's absolutely not a Chris Brown kind of character," " the article is win

  • Marshall2008 #53 12 months ago

    What do you tell a woman with two black eyes?

    Nothing! You already told her twice.

  • Neil__ #54 12 months ago

    "Randy Pitchford has reacted angrily"

    I wouldn't have expected anything less from someone who thinks throwing shit is entertaining

    Edit to add:
    @ IIJAZMANII
    “I dont mind it tbh, I've slapped my girls ass a few times to keep her in check :p”

    Is it that you see nothing wrong in beating women or is it that you’re too fucking stupid to realise you just admitted doing it?
    Edited by Neil__ at 11/06/11 @ 09:42

  • Neil__ #55 12 months ago

    The biggest critics of gamers say that we are misogynistic single men with the mentality of 13yr old boys.

    Reading most of these comments I would sadly have to admit they're right about the majority.

  • Stratix #56 12 months ago

    Actually, in the game, Duke does hurt women. Admittedly, they were inpregnated with aliens.

  • Stratix #57 12 months ago

    Actually, in the game, Duke does hurt women. Admittedly, they were inpregnated with aliens.

  • SFG_Clan #58 12 months ago

    Let's not overreact but lets also remember that this is incredibly tacky. It gives off the worst kind of image for the industry, that we're all adults with the minds of fourteen year olds who endorse giving a woman a "playful" slap to stop that silly female impeding our progress.

    To be honest it's a ridiculous defence for Pitchford to make. While I don't agree this encourages or indeed endorses violence against women; it really is quite a childish attitude to women. Let's not even get into the whole issue that they may objectifying women by making them the objective...

  • P1GEONPOO #59 12 months ago

    I was dating this girl who used to ask me to choke her. Said it turned her on.Scared the shit out of me though.

  • Marshall2008 #60 12 months ago


    Women are like the A-Team,

    they can make something out of nothing    
    Edited by Marshall2008 at 11/06/11 @ 20:52

  • Marshall2008 #61 12 months ago

    My wife stood before me with some items in front of her. Without a word, she emptied a large jar of mayonnaise and proceeded to fill the empty jar with rocks right to the top, rocks about 2" diameter, then asked me if the jar was full. I agreed that it was.

    She then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them in to the jar. She shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. My wife then asked me if the jar was now full. I agreed that, yes, it was.

    She then poured a bag of sand into the jar with the result that the sand filled up the remaining spaces between the rocks and pebbles.

    "Now," said my wife, "I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your wife who loves you, your health, your children - anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed. The pebbles are the other things in life that matter, but on a smaller scale. The pebbles represent things like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff. Your X-box, football, the pub, porn. If you put the sand or the pebbles first, there is no room for the rocks. The same goes for your life.

    If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, material things, you will never have room for the things that are truly most important."

    I was dumbfounded.
    Where was she going to get more mayonnaise from for my sandwich?

  • metalangel #62 12 months ago

    @Marshall2008: Did you then break the jar over her head and then go off and shag her sister while your wife was recuperating in hospital?

  • jetsetdemo #63 12 months ago

    It's a good job they took out the "Capture the fag" mode or who knows what kind of trouble they would have flamed up.

  • DwarfyP #64 12 months ago

    DeeTee_uk & Mentalist(air)
    The mechanic is to playfully spank them (you might get to spank a woman one day if they ask nicely and no I don't mean your mum) not to beat the crap out of them.

    Learn the difference before a woman lets you touch them.