Analyst: Duke Nukem Forever Expected To Sell Over 1.5M

A games industry analyst said Wednesday that he expects the recently-released Duke Nukem Forever to see overall sales of 1.5-2 million units. Analyst Arvind Bhatia with Sterne Agee noted in an investor report that the long-awaited Take-Two Interactive-published title will sell at the lower-end of the estimate. He also revealed that store checks indicated that first day sales of the game in the U.S. were "mediocre." However, he said he believes Take-Two "was conservative in its unit assumptions on Duke Nukem," and that the game's performance will not reflect on the company, as it was originally in development outside of the studio and "is a one-off title for Take-Two." Duke Nukem Forever has received average reviews from critics, although Sterne Agee noted that this was to be expected. "Overall, we believe management was conservative in its guidance on this title," the report said. The game launched in the UK last week, and topped the UK retail software sales charts for the first weekend, dethroning Rockstar Games' LA Noire.