Bat-wielding gangsters are the heroes of Take Two Interactive Software these days, but Duke Nukem's popularity is starting to fade. The exceedingly popular (and controversial) "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" has sold more than 8.5 million copies worldwide since its late October debut. Those sales, according to the company, made up 68 percent of Take Two's first quarter revenue of $408.8 million.

The video game publisher reported a first quarter profit of $50.5 in its fiscal first quarter, compared to $34.8 million in 2002. Additionally, the company raised guidance for its full fiscal year to $970 million. Write-downs and impairment costs totaled $14.5 million, with a significant portion of that blamed on the anticipated, but long-delayed action game "Duke Nukem Forever". First announced in 1998, the game still has no targeted release date. And company officials said there's no hope of it shipping within the next three months.