Need for Speed

This article is about the game series. For the rst Need
for Speed video game, see The Need for Speed. For
other uses, see Need for Speed (disambiguation).
For the lm based on the series, see Need for Speed
(lm).
Need for Speed (NFS) is a series of racing video games
published by Electronic Arts (EA) and developed by sev-
eral studios including the Canadian company EA Black
Box and the British company Criterion Games.
The series released its rst title, The Need for Speed in
1994. Initially, it was designed exclusively for use on
fth generation video game consoles, but later on was
reworked to be able to be used on all seventh genera-
tion consoles by 2008. All members of the series consist
of racing cars on various tracks, with some titles includ-
ing police pursuits in races. Since Need for Speed: High
Stakes, the series has integrated car body customization
into gameplay.
Need for Speed is the most successful racing video game
series in the world, and one of the most successful video
game franchises of all time. Over 140 million copies of
games in the series have been sold to date.
[1]
In June 2012, following Black Boxs restructuring, British
developer Criterion Games announced that it was in full
control of the Need for Speed franchise.
[2]
However,
in August 2013, Swedish and British developers Ghost
Games, Ghost Games UK and Criterion Games joined
forces for the foreseeable future of the Need for Speed
series. At the time, Ghost Games UK sta consisted of
80% of former Criterion Games employees.
[3][4]
1 Gameplay
Almost all of the games in the NFS series employ the
same fundamental rules and similar mechanics: the
player controls a race car in a variety of races, the goal be-
ing to win the race. In the tournament/career mode, the
player must win a series of races in order to unlock vehi-
cles and tracks. Before each race, the player chooses a ve-
hicle, and has the option of selecting either an automatic
or manual transmission. All games in the series have
some form of multiplayer mode allowing players to race
one another via a split screen, a LAN or the Internet.
Although the games share the same name, their tone and
focus can vary signicantly. For example, in some games
the cars can suer mechanical and visual damage, while
in other games the cars cannot be damaged at all; in some
games the software simulates real-car behavior (physics),
while in others there are more forgiving physics.
With the release of Need for Speed: Underground, the
series shifted from racing sports cars on scenic point-to-
point tracks, to an import/tuner subculture, and street rac-
ing in an urban setting. To date, this theme has remained
prevalent in most of the following games.
Need for Speed: Shift and its sequel took a simulator ap-
proach to racing, featuring closed-circuit racing on real
tracks like the Nrburgring and the Laguna Seca, and
ctional street circuits in cities like London and Chicago.
The car lists include a combination of exotics, sports cars,
and tuners in addition to special race cars.
Most of the games in the franchise include police pur-
suits in some form or other. In some of the games fea-
turing police pursuit, the player can play as either the
felon or the cop.
[5]
The concepts of drifting and dragging
were introduced in Need for Speed: Underground. These
new mechanics are included in the tournament/career
mode aside from the regular street races. In drift races,
the player must defeat other racers by totaling the most
points, earned by the length and timing of the drift made
by the players vehicle.
[6]
In drag races, the player must
nish rst to win the race, though if the player crashes
into an obstacle, the race ends.
[6]
The concept of car tuning evolved with each new game,
from focusing mainly on the mechanics of the car to in-
cluding how the car looks. Each game has car tuning
which can set options for items like ABS, traction con-
1
2 4 INSTALLMENTS
trol), or downforce, or for upgrading parts like the engine
or gearbox. Visual tuning of the players car becomes im-
portant in tournament/career mode after the release of
Need for Speed: Underground 2, when the appearance is
rated from zero to ten points. When a car attains a high
enough visual rating, the vehicle is eligible to be on the
cover of a ctional magazine.
[7]
Like all racing games, the Need for Speed series fea-
tures a list of cars, modeled and named after actual cars.
Cars in the franchise are divided into four categories:
exotic cars, muscle cars, tuners, and special vehicles.
[8]
Exotic cars feature high performance, expensive cars
like the Lamborghini Murcilago, Mercedes-Benz SLR
McLaren, Chevrolet Corvette and the Ford GT; muscle
cars refer to the Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger and
the Chevrolet Camaro; while tuner cars are cars like the
Nissan Skyline and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. The
special vehicles are civilian and police cars that are avail-
able for use in some games, such as the Ford Crown Vic-
toria in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010 video game)
and garbage trucks, re engines and taxis in Need for
Speed: Carbon.
[8]
Originally the series took place in international settings,
such as race tracks in Australia, Europe, and Africa.
[9]
Beginning with Underground, the series has taken place
in ctional metropolitan cities.
[10]
The rst game featured
trac on head to head mode, while later games trac
can be toggled on and o, and starting with Underground,
trac is a xed obstacle.
[10]
2 Development
The Need for Speed series was originally developed
by Distinctive Software, a video game studio based in
Vancouver, Canada. Prior to Electronic Arts' purchase
of the company in 1991, it had created popular racing
games such as Stunts and Test Drive II: The Duel. After
the purchase, the company was renamed Electronic Arts
(EA) Canada. The company capitalized on its experience
in the domain by developing the Need for Speed series in
late 1992.
[11]
EA Canada continued to develop and ex-
pand the Need for Speed franchise up to 2002, when an-
other Vancouver-based gaming company, named Black
Box Games, was contracted to continue the series with
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2.
[12]
EABlack Box has been
the primary series developer on a yearly cycle from2002-
08. In 2009, EA brought in Slightly Mad Studios, due
to sagging sales, and they released Need for Speed: Shift,
and EAs own UK-based company Criterion Games came
with Hot Pursuit in 2010. In 2011, Slightly Mad Stu-
dios released a sequel to Shift, Shift 2: Unleashed and EA
Black Box released Need for Speed: The Run.
3 Series overview
Main article: List of Need for Speed video games
There have been 20 games released in the Need for Speed
series. Six games were developed by EA Canada, two by
Eden Games and two by Criterion Games.
^1
The PSP version was called Need for Speed: Under-
ground Rivals, it was released in 2005.
^2
This game was not released on the PS3, but the PS2
version is available as a digital download on PlayStation
Network as of 2012.
^3
The iOS version was canceled due to low sales of The
Run.
4 Installments
4.1 The Need for Speed (1994)
Main article: The Need for Speed
The original Need for Speed was released for 3DO in
1994 with versions released for the PC (DOS) (1995),
PlayStation and Saturn (1996) following shortly after-
wards. The Need for Speed and its Special Edition were
the only games in the series to support DOS, with subse-
quent releases for the PC run only within Windows.
The rst installment of The Need for Speed was the only
serious attempt by the series to provide a realistic sim-
ulation of car handling elements through the direct col-
laboration of Sta members from Road & Track. Elec-
tronic Arts left the handling dynamics tuning with the
automotive magazines seasoned drivers to match vehi-
cle behavior including realistic over and understeer that
remains impressive decades later, as well as sounds made
by the vehicles gear control levers and other functions.
The game contained vehicle data with spoken commen-
tary, several magazine style images of each car, and
short video-clips highlighting the vehicles set to music.
4.4 Need for Speed: High Stakes/Road Challenge (1999) 3
Most cars and tracks are available at the beginning of the
game, and the objective is to unlock the remaining locked
content by winning tournaments. This version featured
chases by police cars, a popular theme throughout the se-
ries.
Another version, called The Need for Speed: Special Edi-
tion, was released only for the PC in 1996. It featured
support for DirectX 2 and TCP/IP networking, two new
tracks, but dropped the ever popular ip and go in favor
of the more generic scene reset after an accident, a por-
tents of the arcade style gaming that would dominate the
series ever after.
4.2 Need for Speed II (1997)
Main article: Need for Speed II
Need for Speed II (NFS II) featured some rare and ex-
otic vehicles, including the Ford Indigo concept vehicle,
and featured country-themed tracks from North Amer-
ica, Europe, Asia and Australia. The PlayStation port
of NFS II was the rst PlayStation game to take advan-
tage of the NeGcon controller, and the Dual Analog and
DualShock controllers as well. A new racing mode was
also introduced, dubbed Knockout, where the last rac-
ers to nish laps will be eliminated. In addition, track
design was more open-ended; players could now drive
o the asphalt, and cut across elds to take advantage of
shortcuts. Need for Speed II: Special Edition includes one
extra track, extra cars, and support for Glide.
4.3 Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit (1998)
Main article: Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit
Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit added Hot Pursuit mode,
where the player either attempted to outrun the police or
be the cop, arresting speeders.
NFS III took advantage of the multimedia capabilities by
featuring audio commentary, picture slideshows and mu-
sic videos. This game was the rst in the series to allow
the downloading of additional cars from the ocial web-
site. As a result, modding communities sprang up to cre-
ate vehicles. The PC version was also the rst game in
the series to support Direct 3D hardware.
4.4 Need for Speed: High Stakes/Road
Challenge (1999)
Main article: Need for Speed: High Stakes
High Stakes (North American and Australian title), also
known as Road Challenge (European and Brazilian title),
Conduite en tat de libert (French title) and Brennender
Asphalt (German title), was released in the summer of
1999.
High Stakes introduced several new types of gameplay:
High Stakes, Getaway, Time Trap, and Career. High
Stakes was a racing mode; Getaway required the player
to outrun numerous pursuing police vehicles; Time Trap
was a time lap trial; and Career was a tournament mode
which incorporated a monetary reward system. Another
innovation was the introduction of damage models, where
after a race the player is given the option to purchase re-
pairs. The mode also allows players, for the rst time, to
upgrade cars.
The PlayStation version of the game, released some
months before the PC version, featured improved game-
play. The AI in the game was more advanced: the ve
AIs known as Nemesis, Bullit, Frost, Ranger, and Chump
featured dierent driving characteristics. In the PlaySta-
tion version, the McLaren F1 GTRwas based on the 1997
Long Tail, while the PCversion was based on the original
95/96 version.
4.5 Need for Speed: Porsche Un-
leashed/Porsche 2000 (2000)
Main article: Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed
Porsche Unleashed (North America and Latin America
title), Porsche 2000 (European title) or simply Porsche (in
Germany) is dierent fromthe previous versions, because
it featured only Porsches.
The vehicle handling in the PC version was said to be
the most realistic in any NFS game, but like the PS1 ver-
sion had very simplied arcade handling that fell woefully
short of the Hallmark handling oered in the rst game.
The player had to win races to unlock cars in chronolog-
ical order from 1950 to 2000. Porsche Unleashed also
featured a Factory Driver mode, where the player had to
test Porsches to move forward in the game, and did not
4 4 INSTALLMENTS
feature a split screen mode.
4.6 Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (2002)
Main article: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 was the debut NFS title
from EA Black Box, and the rst NFS for the sixth gen-
eration consoles. Dierent versions of the game were
produced for each game platform; the Xbox, GameCube
and PC versions were developed in EA Seattle, while the
PS2 version was developed by Black Box Games in Van-
couver.
Hot Pursuit 2 draws primarily from the gameplay and
style of NFS III; its emphasis on evading the police and
over-the-top tracks. Although the game allowed players
to play as the police, the pursuit mode was less realistic
than preceding versions of NFS; players merely needed to
tap a speeder to arrest them, as opposed to using sim-
ulated police tactics to immobilize a speeding vehicle.
This was the rst version since the start of the series not
to feature an in the driving seat camera view, transi-
tioning EA from realistic racing to arcade street racing.
It was the last game in the series for the PCversion to fea-
ture the split-screen two player mode introduced in Need
for Speed II. For the multiplayer mode of the PC ver-
sion, GameSpys internet matchmaking system was used
in place of Local Area Network (LAN) play. Hot Pur-
suit 2 was also the rst NFS game to use songs sung by
licensed artists under the EA Trax label.
4.7 Need for Speed: Underground (2003)
Main article: Need for Speed: Underground
Need for Speed: Underground was developed by EA
Black Box and released on November 17, 2003. This
was the rst NFS game to require Hardware Transform
and Lighting in Graphics Cards. Most of the new ele-
ments in Underground became dening marks of later
installments in the Need for Speed series.
Underground shifted from semi-professional racing and
isolated circuits to the street racing style of other arcade
racing series: all circuits became part of a single map,
Olympic City, except for drifts. Underground introduced
three new play modes (Drag, Drift and Sprint), and more
tuning options than in the earlier High Stakes. Under-
ground was also the rst game in the series to feature a
story, told via pre-rendered videos.
Underground features tuner cars and has a wide variety
of tuning options such as widebody kits, bumpers, spoil-
ers, etc., as well as performance upgrades such as engines
and nitrous. City street racing is the primary focus of the
game.
There were no police in Underground and Underground
2, which drew criticism as police had been an important
part of previous titles.
4.8 Need for Speed: Underground 2 (2004)
Main article: Need for Speed: Underground 2
Need for Speed: Underground 2, was released on Novem-
ber 15, 2004. A demo of the game was placed as a bonus
in nished copies of NFSU2, as well as the EA/Criterion
collaboration Burnout 3: Takedown.
In Underground 2, the story mode continued, but there
were new racing modes such as Underground Racing
League and Street X, more tuning options, and a new
method of selecting races. Also included was an outrun
mode where a player can challenge random opponents on
the road (similar to Tokyo Xtreme Racer). Underground 2
also introduced several SUVs, used to race against other
SUVs.
The customization features were signicantly expanded
on modications which did not aect vehicle perfor-
mance. Players were required to customize their car to
a certain numerical value in order to be oered DVD
and magazine covers, the only way to advance to higher
game levels. The game featured more extensive product
placement for companies with no connection to auto rac-
ing. This game also had extensive customization options
in the form of suspension upgrades, nitrous systems and
engine mods.
Need for Speed: Underground Rivals was the rst Need
for Speed game released on the PlayStation Portable. Dif-
ferent from Need for Speed: Underground 2 as it had no
free roam and the cars were very limited, it was released
on February 24, 2005 in Japan, March 14, 2005 in North
America, and September 1, 2005 in Europe. The title
went Platinum in Europe on June 30, 2006.
4.11 Need for Speed: ProStreet (2007) 5
4.9 Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)
Main article: Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005 video
game)
Need for Speed: Most Wanted was developed by EA
Canada, released on November 16, 2005, and was one of
the rst games released for the Xbox 360. It was released
on the Nintendo GameCube, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2,
Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows and
Nintendo DS. The PlayStation Portable port of Most
Wanted is called Need for Speed: Most Wanted 5-1-0.
Police chases represent a signicant body of the game-
play, and include the free-roaming aspect of Under-
ground 2, but with less extensive vehicle customization
features. The story mode is a dierent style from Under-
ground, with CGI eects mixed with live action. The
game featured the Blacklist, a crew consisting of 15
racers that the player must beat one-by-one to unlock
parts, cars, tracks, and to complete career mode. The
player had to meet certain requirements before they could
take on the next Blacklist rival, such as races completed,
bounty earned, etc.
Aspecial Black Edition of Most Wanted was also released,
featuring additional races, challenges, and a few bonus
cars; it also included a behind-the-scenes DVD. Both ver-
sions were available for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nin-
tendo DS, and Windows-based PCs, while only the stan-
dard edition was available for GameCube and Xbox 360.
Black Edition was made for the tenth anniversary of the
Need for Speed series.
Most Wanted had extremely positive reviews and received
universal acclaim from reviewers in many gaming web-
sites and magazines, praising the graphics, sound eects
and general gameplay. A reboot of the game, also named
Need for Speed: Most Wanted, was announced in 2012
with British developer Criterion Games responsible for
the development.
4.10 Need for Speed: Carbon (2006)
Main article: Need for Speed: Carbon
Need for Speed: Carbon was developed by EA Black Box
and released on October 31, 2006. It was the rst NFS
game for the PlayStation 3 and the Wii and the last NFS
game for the Nintendo GameCube, the Game Boy Ad-
vance, and the Xbox. Carbons handheld port is known
as Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City. The Wii port
lacked online, but made full use of the Wii Remote and
Nunchuk.
NFS: Carbon continued the story from Most Wanted,
however, the game has far less emphasis on the police.
Carbon saw the return of nighttime-only racing, with a
selection of cars similar to that of Most Wanted. Carbon
introduced a new feature wherein the player is allowed to
form a extquotedblcrew extquotedbl that aids the player
in races. Drift events returned to the series in Carbon.
Drag racing was removed from the series, but a new type
of race called Canyon Duel was added, where the closer
the player is to the leader, the more points they accrue.
If the player overtakes the leader and remains in front for
10 seconds, they win automatically. Another new feature
is Autosculpt, which allows players to custom-fabricate
their own auto parts.
4.11 Need for Speed: ProStreet (2007)
Main article: Need for Speed: ProStreet
Need for Speed: ProStreet, developed by EA Black Box,
was released in 2007. Key features of the game included
realistic damage, a return to realistic racing, modeling,
and burnouts.
[105][106]
The game lacked the free roam
mode found in earlier releases, instead, all of the races
were on closed race tracks that took place on organized
race days. The game consisted of drag races, speed chal-
lenges, grip races (circuit racing), and drift races.
4.12 Need for Speed: Undercover (2008)
Main article: Need for Speed: Undercover
Need for Speed: Undercover, developed by EA Black
Box, was released on November 18, 2008. The game
had a signicantly longer development cycle than previ-
ous games, taking 16 months to develop.
[120]
EA Games
president Frank Gibeau stated that since sales of ProStreet
didn't live up to EAs projections, the franchise would go
back to its roots. The game received lower scores on
aggregate than Pro Street.
The game focused on tuning and police chases, featured
over 50 cars, and took place in a ctional city. The
6 4 INSTALLMENTS
players role was as an undercover cop, trying to stop the
racers. Containing live-action cutscenes which feature
the actress Maggie Q, the game also featured a damage
system where parts could break o after a crash.
The Collectors Edition for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
added another 5 new cars, twelve new circuits, and sprint
and checkpoint track congurations. Also included were
specially tuned versions of ten existing cars, plus 35 ex-
clusive vinyls for adding a unique visual style.
EA ported Undercover to various mobile devices. It was
the last Need for Speed game for PlayStation 2.
4.13 Need for Speed: Shift (2009)
Main article: Need for Speed: Shift
Need for Speed: Shift, developed by Slightly Mad Studios,
was released on September 15, 2009. It features over
60 cars and 19 tracks, some of which are actual licensed
tracks while others are ctional. Improved driving sim-
ulation was accompanied by an adaptive diculty, while
it reintroduced a cockpit view. NFS: Shift focused on rac-
ing simulation rather than the arcade racing of previous
titles.
NFS: Shift received better reviews than the prior 3 games
in the series. The Special Edition contained a special
tuned BMW M3 GT2, and an Elite Series track. Two
downloadable contents were released for the game.
4.14 Need for Speed: Nitro (2009)
Main article: Need for Speed: Nitro
Need for Speed: Nitro is the rst NFS game made exclu-
sively for Nintendo DS and Wii, featuring arcade-style
gameplay and targeting a casual audience. Nitro was re-
leased on November 3, 2009 in North America and in
Europe on November 6, 2009. Need for Speed: Ni-
tro was also available as a social multiplayer game on
Facebook.
[133]
Need for Speed Nitro-X (2010) was a newer installment
for use with the DSi/XL and the 3DS system. Essentially
the original release, it was updated with several updates:
18 licensed vehicles; new police units; custom tags; 16
updated tracks; a revised career mode; local multiplayer
matches for up to 4 players; and new rewards and unlock-
ables. The game was released as a digital download only,
released on November 15, 2010 in North America and
November 26, 2010 in Europe.
4.15 Need for Speed: World (2010)
Main article: Need for Speed: World
Need for Speed: World is a free-to-play MMO racing
game exclusively for Windows-based PCs.
It takes on the gameplay style of Most Wanted and Car-
bon, focusing on illegal racing, tuning and police chases,
and adds classic MMO elements to the mix. World even
incorporates almost exact replicas of the cities of Rock-
port and Palmont, the cities of Most Wanted and Carbon
respectively, into its map design.It also features a bit of
the Underground 2 in the free roam. World was orig-
inally scheduled for an Asian release in the summer of
2009, however the game was not released at that time
and it was released worldwide on July 27, 2010.
[136][137]
In October 2009, the game was in public beta-testing lim-
ited to residents of Taiwan.
The beta was launched on June 2, 2010. The game was
released to players who had the starter pack on July 20,
2010 and to others on July 27, 2010. Previously, the play-
ers who didn't purchase the Starter Pack will not be able
to progress further from level 10; the level cap for those
players has since been removed on September 8, 2010, al-
lowing all players progression and availability. Currently
players are limited to 60 levels only. It has a garage of
150+ Cars.
[138]
4.16 Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010)
Main article: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010 video
game)
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit was developed by British
games developer Criterion Games and published by Elec-
tronic Arts on November 16, 2010.
[147]
It focuses on rac-
ing and police chases rather than car customization. The
game won many awards at the E3 2010, including Best
Racing Game, becoming the rst game in the NFS series
since the original Hot Pursuit to win an E3 award.
There were over 60 cars, most available to both racers and
cops, but a few were exclusive to either side.
[148]
Unlike
4.19 Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012) 7
previous NFS titles, there was no customization, and the
game takes place in a ctional rural area called Seacrest
County, which the free roam feature lets you explore.
Hot Pursuit allows play as either police or racer.
The game also features many weapons, with some ex-
clusive to the cops or racers. The biggest feature intro-
duced in was the Need for Speed Autolog, which tracked
player progressions and recommended events to play. In
addition to its statistical system, Autolog also features
Facebook-like speedwalls where players can post their
comments and photos while in the game. Hot Pursuit has
received some of the best reviews of the series.
The Limited Edition gives players exclusive access to the
Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione and Ford Shelby GT500.
Various downloadable content was released for the game.
4.17 Shift 2: Unleashed (2011)
Main article: Shift 2: Unleashed
The sequel to Need for Speed: Shift, Shift 2: Unleashed
was developed by Slightly Mad Studios, and released on
March 29, 2011. Shift 2 includes the Autolog feature in-
troduced in Hot Pursuit.
[155]
It also includes features such
as night racing, an in-helmet camera, and a more in-depth
career mode. Shift 2 features more than 140 vehicles
available for racing and tuning, a smaller number com-
pared with other racing games such as Forza Motorsport
3 and Gran Turismo 5. There are also 40 real-world loca-
tions including Bathurst, Spa-Francorchamps and Suzuka
as well as ctional circuits.
The Limited Edition features 3 unlocked cars, and an
additional 37 career race events.
[156]
Two downloadable
contents were released for Shift 2.
4.18 Need for Speed: The Run (2011)
Main article: Need for Speed: The Run
Need for Speed: The Run was developed by EA Black
Box, and released on November 15, 2011. The game
continued the street-racing gameplay of Black Boxs pre-
vious titles, with a story based on a race across the United
States from San Francisco to New York.
The game featured quick time events with the player, for
the rst time in NFS history, exiting their car and traveling
on foot. The Run was powered by DICE's Frostbite 2
engine, making the game the rst non-shooter and one of
the rst console titles to use the engine. Additionally, the
NFS Autolog was also used in the game.
The Run employs a large range of real-world vehicles,
which can be altered with performance upgrades and vi-
sual upgrades. An XP (Experience points) system is used
for unlocking cars and events. The Limited Edition fea-
tures three exclusive cars and ve exclusive challenges
with bonus rewards and achievements.
4.19 Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012)
Main article: Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012 video
game)
Need for Speed: Most Wanted was developed by British
games developer Criterion Games, and released on Oc-
tober 30, 2012. The game picked up on the Most Wanted
IP, as opposed to the Hot Pursuit extension.
[177]
This was
the rst game made subsequent to Criterion Games tak-
ing over the NFS series from Black Box.
It features open world racing, and most of the cars in
the game are available from the start, hidden in dier-
ent locations.
[178]
It also features a blacklist of 10 instead
of 15, and there is no story for the game. It is powered
by Autolog 2.0. Performance upgrades are available for
all the cars in the game, such as chassis, tires, nitrous,
and bodywork.
[179]
Milestones and achievements are un-
locked through a variety of ways, e.g. completion of races
and breaking through billboards.
4.20 Need for Speed Rivals (2013)
Main article: Need for Speed Rivals
Need for Speed Rivals was developed by Ghost Games
(formerly EA Gothenburg) in association with Criterion
Games, and was released on November 15, 2013 for
the PlayStation 4,
[190]
on November 19, 2013 for Mi-
crosoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
[190]
and
on November 22, 2013 for the Xbox One.
[190]
8 6 FILM ADAPTATION
4.21 Other games
There are three games which are associated with, but not
part of, the NFS series.
4.21.1 Need for Speed V-Rally (1997)
Main article: Need for Speed V-Rally
When V-Rally: Championship Edition was released in
1997, it was developed by the European based com-
pany, Eden Studios, and had no connection with the Need
for Speed games. EA bought the rights to the game,
producing it in North America as Need for Speed: V-
Rally.
[191][192]
) A rally racing video game, it was pub-
lished by Infogrames. The budget Platinum re-release
of the PlayStation version added support for DualShock
controllers.The game was a bestseller in the UK for 3
months.
[193]
4.21.2 Need for Speed V-Rally 2 (1999)
Main article: Need for Speed V-Rally 2
V-Rally 2 is a rally racing video game and the sequel to
V-Rally. The PlayStation version is sold in Europe as V-
Rally 2 Championship Edition and in North America as
Need for Speed: V-Rally 2. The Dreamcast and Windows
versions are known in Europe as V-Rally 2 Expert Edition
and in North America the Dreamcast version is known as
Test Drive V-Rally.
[194]
4.21.3 Motor City Online (2001)
Main article: Motor City Online
Originally conceived as part of the Need for Speed series
under the title Need for Speed: Motor City,
[195]
all single
player elements were discarded in favor of an online-only
model. The result, Motor City Online was a racing MMO
game released by EA on October 29, 2001. The point
of the game was to buy classic cars, tune them, and race
them against other players. The game went oine less
than 2 years later to enable EA to focus on The Sims On-
line. Later, EA, would develop a newonline racing game,
called Need for Speed: World.
[196]
5 Future
At E3 2012, Criterion vice president Alex Ward an-
nounced that random developers would no longer be de-
veloping NFS titles. Ward wouldn't conrm that all Need
for Speed games in the future would be developed entirely
by Criterion, but he did say the studio would have strong
involvement in them, and would have control over which
NFS titles would be released in the future.
[2][197]
In April 2013, Electronic Gaming Monthly published a re-
port that Need for Speed: Underground could be the next
NFS game.
[198]
However that report was contradicted
hours later by Ward.
[199][200]
Initially it was suspected that
Criterion would not be developing racing games in the
short-term, but Ward claried that he was speaking per-
sonally and not speaking for the studio.
[201]
As of October 2013, there are no known Need for Speed
titles in development apart from Rivals. In an inter-
view with VideoGamer, the head of Ghost Games, Mar-
cus Nilsson, stated that Ghost owned the Need for Speed
franchise, and they were working to restore the credi-
bility of the franchise.
[202]
He also suggested a sequel to
Underground 2 if the conditions were right.
[203]
Later in
the year, at the Eurogamer Expo, Mr. Nilsson hinted that
the franchise might return to a style of progression in the
future similar to the Underground series.
[204]
On May 5 2014, it has been ocially reported that there
are no Need for Speed titles scheduled for release in 2014.
[205]
6 Film adaptation
One of two surviving Mustangs used in Need For Speed Movie
9
Main article: Need for Speed (lm)
EA had decided to work with DreamWorks Studios to
create a lmversion of Need for Speed and it was released
on March 14, 2014. Aaron Paul played the starring role
as Tobey Marshall, a mechanic and street racer who was
framed by a wealthy business associate.
[206]
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velopment was done by Electronic Arts Canada (which at
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tronic Arts in any way. The Need for Speed prex was
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8 External links
Ocial website
Tribute Trailer
EA Sports
Need for Speed series at DMOZ
15
9 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses
9.1 Text
Need for Speed Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need_for_Speed?oldid=628165945 Contributors: Eloquence, Mrwojo, Freckle-
foot, D, Modster, Liftarn, Ixfd64, Penmachine, Tpbradbury, Djungelurban, Robbot, Moriori, SchmuckyTheCat, Meelar, Mushroom,
Boarder8925, Seth Ilys, Gtrmp, Oberiko, Tom harrison, ManicParroT, Curps, Mboverload, Gzornenplatz, TerokNor, Gadum, Manuel
Anastcio, SoWhy, Antandrus, The Inedible Bulk, Rdsmith4, Sam Hocevar, Adashiel, EagleOne, SYSS Mouse, Mike Rosoft, UrmasU,
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