In 1998, the much delayed sequel to the fantastically popular first person shooter Duke Nukem, Duke Nukem Forever, was declared one of the top pieces of vaporware (promised but not delivered software) of all time.

Well, an era has ended because today, Duke Nukem Forever was released:

Even though his game is finally in stores, Duke Nukem will forever be remembered as the very personification of vaporware.

Wired.com created the Vaporware Awards many years ago to honor products that were hyped, promoted and promised but never released. Tech and gaming companies love to throw smoke and mirrors in our faces and make us think that barely begun (or simply imaginary) products are humming along quite smoothly; the Vaporware Awards attempt to cut through the spin.

Duke Nukem Forever was mentioned in our Vaporware Awards 12 times as the developers of the first-person shooter let years upon years go by without shipping the game.

Released Tuesday for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, Duke Nukem Forever doesn’t live up to the years of hype. But simply shipping the unshippable game should be counted as an accomplishment for 2K Games and Gearbox Software, which stepped in last year to get Duke back on track after the collapse of developer 3D Realms.

The reviews are mixed.  The gaming press hates it, but at least one person, Bladesmith on the SP BBS, commented that, “Seriously, the reviewers don’t get the joke. This is a throwback AND an homage to the old school 80s Duke.”

As for me, I won’t be getting it.  I never played the original, so I think that I would not get the humor.