Does Duke Nukem Forever, with its strippers and schoolgirl threesomes, rub your feminist agenda the wrong way? "Awesome," says the man now in charge of the Duke Nukem series. Duke is yours for the exploiting.
Randy Pitchford, president of Gearbox Software, the home of Duke, tells Eurogamer that for all of Duke Nukem Forever's machismo and crass behavior—and press events held at the "Titty City" strip club in Las Vegas—he may be the ideal (video game) instrument for advocating women's rights.
"I'll tell you what, if some feminist organization that is doing a great job advocating women's rights worldwide, which I think is really important, can get some advantage by using Duke... go for it," Pitchford said. "How is there a downside for humanity? Go for it. Take it. Use Duke. That would be awesome."
"If anyone can better our world through the use of anything, and if Duke is a tool to help them do that, that's fine," he adds. The same for DNF's use of "Fags" as a brand of in-game cigarettes and the game's blunt "men are (literally) pigs" approach. Find that offensive? Please, take Duke Nukem to task.
Pitchford's approach to Duke's politically incorrect mannerisms—which the Gearbox president calls "hedonistic," "not misogynistic"—seems to be "there's no such thing as bad press." At least when it comes to Duke Nukem Forever.
Duke: Pitchford welcomes feminist anger [Eurogamer]