Betting against the odds: how Duke Nukem Forever is actually happening, and how awesome that truly is

“Extremely frustrating.”

That’s how Jon St. John, the longtime voice of Duke Nukem, described sitting on the sidelines and watching the well documented twelve year history of Duke Nukem Forever unfold. “Wow…I lost count,” he said when asked how many times he has recorded and re-recorded dialogue for Duke Nukem Forever. “It’s been through so many different phases and changes, but whenever they call me, I’m ready to go”.

At the 2010 Penny Arcade Expo today, there was no longer wait to play one game than the wait to play Duke Nukem Forever. The three hour long line stretches completely around the walled off black box that houses about fifteen kiosks featuring a playable build of DNF on Xbox 360. There are five security guards patrolling the perimeter. Outside the walls are framed portraits of Duke catching a shark with a fishing pole, Duke in space, Duke winning multiple Emmy awards, and other shots of Duke in his natural habitat.