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Wired: Vaporware: Nuke ‘Em if Ya Got ‘Em

Now in its seventh year, Wired News’ Vaporware Awards celebrates all those eagerly anticipated gizmos in 2003 that were put off, put away or quietly put down.

The “winners” were chosen by our readers. A call for submissions went out in December, and we’re pleased to report that the volume of responses this year was among the largest ever.

Once again, the list of shame was dominated by games, a reflection of the overly competitive industry and its reliance on hype as a marketing strategy.

Several game companies earned a spot, but one in particular, Valve, enjoyed a spectacular year — from a vaporware point of view. The company managed to propel two titles onto the MIA list. A third title earned a dishonorable mention.

But once again, 3D Realms stood out from the crowd. The company’s perennial absentee title, Duke Nukem Forever, is still vaporware. The first-person shooter, now in its sixth year of development, earned almost as many votes as all the other nominations combined.

However, rather than award 3D Realms the coveted Vaporware title for the third year in a row, we decided the company deserved something special. We created a new honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award. This year that award goes to Duke Nukem Forever.

No real surprises there.