One of the longest running jokes in video gaming is the development window of the upcoming (hehehe, "upcoming"... I'm too funny) PC title Duke Nukem Forever.  In case you're joining us late, the gag is that the game has been in development since April of 1997.  Nine years later we're still waiting, as the development team has supposedly discarded their work and restarted the project over and over again in the name of making the game perfect.

The original release date was in 1998.  How long does it take to develop a video game?  Thanks to The Duke Nukem Forever List we now have a running tab of projects that have been conceived, announced, developed, and released in the time that Duke Nukem Forever has been in development.  For instance, since the game was announced in 1997:

• The Voyager 1 spacecraft has traveled 8.8 billion miles from Earth.
• The two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity were proposed, authorized, announced, designed, launched and successfully landed upon Mars where they have been exploring the surface for over 2.5 years.
• NASA's Deep Impact program also went full circle.
• The International Space Station was assembled and has been orbiting Earth for over 8 years.

Humanity's progress seems vast measured in Duke Nukem Forever development time.  In April 1997 I was finishing my second year of high school.  In the time that the game has been in the works I've graduated from both high school and college.  After all that build up and anticipation I can't imagine how the game can live up to the hype when (if?) it's finally finished and released. 

(via Waxy)