Need for Speed :The Run

Need for Speed: The Run is a racing video game, the 18th title in the long-running Need for Speed franchise, and developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. The Wii and 3DS versions were developed by Firebrand Games, the team behind Undercover and Nitro (both DS versions). It was released in North America on November 15, 2011 and November 18, 2011 in Europe.
The game is described as an "illicit, high-stakes race across the country. The only way to get your life back is to be the first from San Francisco to New York. No speed limits. No rules. No allies. All you have are your driving skills and sheer determination".
Producers Jason DeLong and Steve Anthony stated during an interview that Black Box aimed to obtain critical acclaim after their last game received universally poor ratings. The Run was in production for three years even though previous Black Box titles had much shorter development periods.

In The Run, players are participating in an "underground world of illicit, high stakes racing," in a race from San Francisco to New York, with stops through Las Vegas, Denver and many other locations, making it the first title in the series to use real locations. The cops aren't the only ones after the player though, as the player "blows across borders, weaves through dense urban traffic, rockets down icy mountain passes and navigates narrow canyons at breakneck speeds."^[8] There are over 300 kilometres (190 mi) of track, three times more than Hot Pursuit, making it the biggest Need For Speed game.

The Run is powered by DICE's Frostbite 2 engine, making the game the first non-shooter and one of the first console titles to use the engine, which provides visuals and car physics that "hug the road even at top speeds all built around a gripping storyline." Additionally, Need for Speed Autolog, the Need for Speed franchise's social competition functionality, which was introduced in Hot Pursuit and was previously used in Shift 2: Unleashed, is also back as it continue to track career progression and compare game stats.

The game features quick time events, with the player for the first time in Need for Speed history, exiting their car and traveling on foot. These events won't always be about harsh success or failure states. In some sections there are branching outcomes, so if the player mangles a certain button press, they'll get another chance to pull through.

The cars can be altered with performance upgrades and visual upgrades, such as paint colors and body kits.

The driving model of the game is described as "sit somewhere between Shift and Hot Pursuit", not as arcade-styled as Hot Pursuit, but neither as simulator-styled as Shift. The Run employs a large range of real-world vehicles, seemingly taking in the usual mix of muscle cars, street racers and refined exotics, described as "each car presents a different driving challenge for the player." Exclusively digitized for the game is the 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S and the Pagani Huayra. The damage system is similar to that seen in Hot Pursuit. The cars can be altered with performance upgrades and visual upgrades, such as paint colors and body kits. There are cosmetic body kits known as Style Pack kits and Aero Pack kits, which affect aerodynamics as well as performance.

An XP (Experience points) system is used for unlocking cars and events. The game also feature a Rewind option to allows the player to restart an event to their last checkpoint if they wreck their vehicle or rewind their vehicle from a collision or missed opportunity. Rewinds are only available in limited quantities as their amount dependent on the difficulty level that the player has selected; Easy have 10 Rewinds, Normal have 5 Rewinds, Hard have 3 Rewinds and Extreme have 1 Rewind as well as the most difficult AI opponents.

Multiplayer

Up to 8 players can participate in a single online match. Players are able to party with friends, pick a playlist of their favorite challenges and compete for supremacy across every stage of game. In addition to this, players never have to wait in a lobby again even if they are joining a race in progress. The multiplayer matches are split into differing game type playlists, such as Supercar Challenge, NFS Edition Racing, The Underground, Mixed Competition, Exotic Sprint, and Muscle Car Battles. Most of these modes pertain to different car varieties for each race, but the Supercar Challenge is meant entirely for the fastest cars on the fastest tracks. The player can select an event and vote towards the race course where the multiplayer game should be taking place on. Players also take part in a reward system known as "The Bonus Wheel", which randomly selects a reward and required goal criteria for it.

Wii/3DS versions

The game is similar to Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. Players race down freeways until they meet a police car. The police then try to chase them down and wreck their car. They also encounter other objectives such as a straight-up race. There is another mode where players 'duel' a rival. They can also race to toll booths that double as checkpoints.

The 3DS version also features Autolog, which is integrated throughout the career mode and uses 40 in-game challenges scattered throughout the campaign. The game also takes advantage of StreetPass, letting players upload their best Autolog scores to other Nintendo 3DS devices. In multiplayer, the game features a straight race mode where eight people compete. There is also a four-on-four Cops vs. Racers mode. The game supports Wi-Fi and local wireless connections. However, the Wii version lacks online play, yet it has split-screen multiplayer.

Plot

Need for Speed: The Run features a linear story mode, which places the player in the shoes of Jackson "Jack" Rourke. After an incident leaves him in bad standing with a mysterious crime organization, Jack becomes a marked man and must flee for his survival. The consequence of his situation leaves him owing large sums of money, which he cannot pay on his own. He is directed to a massive illegal street racing event called "The Run" by an associate, Sam Harper. The Run is a 3000 mile (4828 km) journey across the continental USA, starting in San Francisco and ending in New York City. She informs him the prize money, $25,000,000, is enough to secure his freedom from the organization, but he has to beat over 200 other drivers to the finish line to win. To complicate things, he is in debt to both the police and the criminal organization, and both want to make sure that he never finishes the race.

Characters

Several characters in the game are digital likeness of real world actors. The cast also lends their voices to the game. Actor Sean Faris portrays protagonist Jack Rourke while actress Christina Hendricks plays Sam Harper. Two Sports Illustrated models, Irina Shayk and Christine Teigen also have roles in the game.

Wii/3DS storyline

The Nintendo 3DS and Wii versions feature a different storyline than its contemporaries. The plot unfold through graphic novel-esque cutscenes that also contain minigames, though they are not the same as the quick-time event gameplay of the console version. The story is divided into five acts (which is further divided into 26 "episodes"). The protagonist of the 3DS/Wii version is not Jack, but rather a down-on-his-luck stock car racer named "Matt". The premise remains mostly unchanged (a coast-to-coast race with a large pot at stake), but introduces a female character who takes the story in a different direction.

Development

Since the release of Undercover, Black Box has been working on another entry to the franchise, presumably continuing the action focused street-racing gameplay of Black Box's previous titles. This game has an extended development window to give the developers a chance to create a game that "could really blow the doors off the category". It was confirmed that the game will feature a fictional storyline and characters. The game was first hinted early in November 2010 by Senior Vice President of EA Games Europe, Patrick Söderlund in a interview with Eurogamer, before the release of Hot Pursuit. Söderlund stated he want to alternate developers to give them time to make a good game. Eurogamer’s Robert Purchese asked, "You say there will be an arcade NFS game every year in November, but next year's game won't be developed by Criterion. Is it Black Box?" Söderlund stated "You can assume that, yes. Yes. I would say so, yes."

The game was originally set to be revealed at E3 2011, however, on April 28, 2011, a listing for Need for Speed: The Run appeared on UK retailer site ShopTo. Later, EA released the teaser trailer for all to see. On April 29, the firm confirmed the game's details. "This is the year that Need for Speed goes to the next level," said Jason DeLong, executive producer at EA. "We think that Need for Speed: The Run is going to surprise people with its intense, thrilling story and big action feel. But the game would be nothing without hot cars and crazy-fast chases. So that is what we're delivering — explosive racing that will have players flirting with disaster at 200-miles an hour." EA Games Label president, Frank Gibeau stated that Need for Speed: The Run will offer "an edgier experience" than previous entries in the racing series.

The Run's lead development platform is the PlayStation 3. At E3 2011, it was announced that the PlayStation 3 version of the game includes seven exclusive cars, including the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, Hennessey Venom GT, Gumpert Apollo Sports, Lamborghini Countach 5000QV, Koenigsegg Agera R and Porsche Carrera GT.

EA Black Box said that the Frostbite 2 engine allows The Run to look stunning, stating that Frostbite 2 is not only the best engine it has used in a game to date, but "the most versatile" too. According to designer Alex Grimbley, it apparently took a year to re-purpose the tech for driving rather than shooting. The EA Black Box team, especially the artists, coders and designers, for the first time, worked collaboratively in small groups on The Run. Executive producer Jason DeLong stated that the Frostbite engine provides a more detailed cinematic environment and experience to the game.

Jason DeLong, executive producer at Black Box, said the studio used DICE’s Frostbite 2 engine for The Run as it was intent on making a "Hollywood" experience and to give the game a more cinematic feel than past story-based Need for Speed titles:

“	When they decided to split the development across Criterion and Black Box to give each studio the time and development to create a quality experience, one of the things that we obviously had to do was to reinvest in our technology, because we hadn’t been able to because of the yearly cycles in the past. So we looked at several options: do we advance the engine that we currently have? What other third party ones are out there? And when we realised the game that we wanted to make, which we knew was based in a cinematic kind of Hollywood storytelling fashion, we looked at Frostbite and it seemed like, ‘Well, it’s internal; we can work closely with the dev team’: it was the right choice. It allowed us to get a character in the game, have incredible, believable characters in addition to amazing worlds and amazing looking cars. Their visual effects work is second to none; the world destruction, their audio is incredible. And most importantly, one of the nice side benefits was that it’s an incredibly content-driven tool, which allowed us to create more content than we’ve ever done before.	”
	— Jason DeLong, executive producer at Black Box

The Run is the first non-DICE game to use Frostbite 2, but Black Box did collaborate with DICE to make certain that the engine was used properly, with DeLong commenting that the collaboration allowed for a "very deep racing mechanic of handling physics into the game". "We did a cross-studio development on the Frostbite 2 engine that we’re using", DeLong said. "And yeah, it was a lot of collaboration and work with them to get things like our road tool, which is our internal tool that allows us to build a track very quickly."

The Run's producer Alex Grimbley confirmed that The Run would not feature any form of vehicle customization. "We decided against customization because that is not what The Run is about. It is an understandable stance given that is a whole new direction for the franchise. We want to focus on the story and the race itself." However, this statement was retracted after some trailers and screenshots of the game featured visually modified vehicles. A GameSpot trailer released on November 2, 2011 officially confirmation that body kits and selectable body paints can be placed on vehicles.

When asked why is The Run from San Fran – New York rather than LA – New York, game’s producer Brian Lindley replied, "That’s a good question. I think we were maybe looking for more of a direct route. It’s more of a straight line route rather than being sort of corner to corner. But also, San Fran has some iconic landmarks and things like the bridge and the downtown. Also, what we can do with the environment with things like fog, it makes it of a bit cooler place to drive than LA. And my experiences driving in LA are largely being stuck in traffic! So that’s the primary reason, it’s just a cooler looking start for the game."

Black Box PR Manager Dana Sissons stated that The Run is going to be more exciting, more varied, and bigger than ever. The race from San Francisco to New York is full of new race modes, tons of different terrain, and a few "Michael Bay movie moment" avalanches to keep you on your toes. "As a result of Frostbite 2, we were able to create this really robust, huge game that is reflective of, basically, the size of the United States," said Sissons. Which means that as racing through the United States, there will be treated to realistic and varied terrain, including deserts, mountains, cities, farmland, and so much more. According to Sissons, it’ s not just going to be a huge game, it is "easily the biggest Need For Speed game, with 303 times the track space of previous games."

Marketing and release

The Limited Edition of the game features three exclusive cars, the Lamborghini Aventador (top), and Porsche 911 Carrera S (bottom), and the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 (not pictured).

Prior to its release, Need for Speed: The Run was marketed and promoted heavily through the use of numerous Internet and TV trailers. Famed Hollywood action director Michael Bay has directed a TV advertisement for the game. Talking about his venture of directing a trailer for a game, Michael Bay stated, "What I try to do with my trailers is to get your heart racing to the end of it." The advertisement features explosions, car crashes, supercars and police vehicle.

In addition to the standard edition, a Limited Edition of the game has been announced, which is available through pre-order. The Limited Edition features numerous bonuses over the standard edition, including exclusive packaging, three exclusive cars (the Lamborghini Aventador, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and Porsche 911 Carrera S) and five exclusive challenges with bonus rewards and achievements.

There were three pre-order offers through several retail outlets. Each pre-order consists of two bonus cars and three events inspired by the "exclusive" Challenge Series, which depends on the outlets the player pre-ordered the game. The three "exclusive" Challenge Series on offer are inspired by EA Black Box previous Need for Speed games Underground, Most Wanted and Carbon. The Underground Edition Nissan 370Z (Z34) and Underground Edition Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32) are included in the Need for Speed The Run Underground Challenge Series as bonus cars, while the Most Wanted Edition BMW M3 GTS and Razor's Mustang Boss 302 are included in the Need for Speed The Run Most Wanted Challenge Series as bonus cars, and the Carbon Edition Corvette Z06 (C6) and Darius Audi R8 are included in the Need for Speed The Run Carbon Challenge Series as bonus cars.

Buying the game through Origin comes with two special offers. These who pre-ordered the game received a PC Digital download for one of five past Need for Speed titles. Not only could the player get The Run, but also choose between Hot Pursuit, Shift 2: Unleashed, Shift, Undercover and Prostreet. The Need for Speed The Run Carbon Challenge Series was also included as a pre-order bonus. This offer was only available until November 14, 2011. These who buys the game after November 14 through Origin receives seven EA racing titles for only $79.99 ($159.99 value) that’s 50% off the Need for Speed Collection, which included The Run, Shift 2: Unleashed, Shift, Hot Pursuit, Undercover, Prostreet and Burnout Paradise. This offer was only available until December 31.

A demo of the game was released on Xbox Live first on October 18 (expired on November 1) and PlayStation Network on October 19 (also expired on November 1), a month ahead of the game's launch. The demo featured two levels: Desert Hills, California and Independence Pass, Colorado in a Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni, and supported a "refer a friend to download the demo" feature giving players access to a 2012 Porsche 911 Carrera S. Autolog also implemented in the demo, allowing the player to compare best times with friends across the two tracks.

Need for Speed teamed up with HP and Vagrant Records to let fans decide which of the favorite bands they would like to see in The Run. The fans got a choice to vote for their favorite song and artist, which includes the song "Mama Taught Me Better" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, "Solar" by MonstrO and "Tropical Depression" by The Night Marchers, on The Run's official website.

The Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni appeared as one of the available cars in the demo.

To promote the game in Europe, EA and Need for Speed is conducting the 2011 Need for Speed European Spokesmodel Search. This continent wide search is set to discover two women with boundless energy, an outgoing personality and an edgy style fused with a passion for cars and gaming. The winners act as Need for Speed ambassadors at events throughout 2012, including representing Need for Speed products at high profile gaming events across Europe and the Team Need for Speed racing team in the prestigious FIA GT3 European Championship and Euro Drift program. Models searches are being conducted in five territories: France, Germany, Norway, Russia and the United Kingdom. Finalists was selected from each territory with the final two winners being announced in November in conjunction with the release of Need for Speed: The Run. To promote the game in US, Canada and UK, EA announced a competition, giving away one 2012 Porsche Carrera S. All the competitions had to do is enter by logging in with the EA account, or register for free.

Electronic Arts and Sports Illustrated have announced a marketing partnership for the Need for Speed franchise, "bringing together the worlds of fashion, video games, cars and beauty in a first-of-its-kind partnership." EA announced that the likenesses of 2011 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover model Irina Shayk and model Chrissy Teigen appears in the game as part of a promotional deal struck between the game publisher and popular sports magazine. The cross promotion isn’t limited to the models appearance in the game. Sports Illustrated is a featured advertiser on billboards that appear in the gamescape. S.I. offers a bundle that see buyers receive a six-month "All Access" subscription to Sports Illustrated, a copy of Need for Speed: The Run for PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, and a Making of Need for Speed: The Run documentary DVD starring the two swimsuit models for $50.

Electronic Arts and Adidas collaborated to produce 100 pair of shoes tied into Need for Speed: The Run. "Our goal with Need for Speed is to be more than just a video game franchise, as we view ourselves as a leader in youth and automotive culture as well," said Kevin Maher, senior director of marketing at EA. The first 50 pair of shoes was available at the Adidas Originals Chicago store on October 10, with another 50 available at the San Francisco store on October 22. The first to purchase the shoes was invited to "exclusive kick-off" events at the stores a few days later.

Downloadable content

The first post-launch downloadable content package, titled "Signature Edition Booster Pack", features nine new cars, all modified to insane levels ranging from a "Venom" Nissan 370Z to a "Falken" Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0. The second post-launch downloadable content package, titled "Italian Pack", features seven new cars (Alfa Romeo 8C Comptizione, Lanica Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione, Lamborghini Diablo SV, Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera, Pagani Zonda R, Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale, Maserati MC12) and ten new challenge events added into Challenge Series. The third DLC is the Heroes and Villains pack which features all the pre-order vehicles available for download.

Reception

Need for Speed: The Run received mixed reception from critics, making The Run the worst received installment in the franchise since 2008's Undercover. The first review was published by GameInformer, which gave the game 7.8 out of 10, saying that "Need for Speed: The Run is by no stretch a bad game; it just fails to capitalize on its chances. San Francisco to New York is a long haul, and it's even longer when not enough happens in between."

A couple more positive reviews include GameTrailers, which gave it an 8.4, writing "Need for Speed: The Run falters with its high-profile but underdeveloped plot as well as some awkward design choices. However, it overcomes these potholes with courses that are a blast to drive and simple multiplayer that keeps you hooked in." Gaming Nexus which gave it an A-, and stated "The Run takes the venerable franchise in a startling new direction while preserving all of the aspects that have made the series so successful. This one is definitely worth taking a look at."

IGN gave it a 6.5 "Okay" rating, stating "All this awesome racing action gets somewhat lost amid the nonexistent story, the dumb/scripted AI, the lack of options, and the overall shortness of the game. The Run is not a marathon racing game, it's a quick and dirty drag race." 1UP gave it a C+, stating "The Run takes an awkwardly serious approach to its story, eschewing the over-the-top fun and wackiness of its clear inspirations -- movies like the Cannonball Run series and classic arcade games like Cruis'n USA --to deliver a cross-country campaign that's sometimes exhilarating, but often frustrating and surprisingly banal." Eurogamer gave it 5 out of 10, saying "The worst of the game's technical sins is performance, with appallingly low frame rates in our patched PS3 retail version when you brake suddenly or drift through many a corner."

GamesRadar was more positive to the game, which gave it 8 out of 10, and stated "It's possible Need for Speed The Run won't provide as many hours of entertainment as previous NFS games, but then it packs in unique events and some incredibly exciting chase sequences, meaning it packs a lot of entertainment-per-hour. It's not very forgiving of mistakes, but then it provides greater rewards as a result." VideoGamer gave it 6 out of 10, saying "The Run certainly isn't terrible, and a big improvement on Black Box's previous effort, Undercover, but it needed more moments like the avalanche and less monotonous freeways. With the campaign over in an afternoon and the rest of the package failing to offer anything to keep you playing, The Run is some decent throwaway fun that will be forgotten as soon as you move on to something else." Joystiq also gave it 3 stars out of 5, and going so far to say that "Need for Speed: The Run's biggest problem is how much it has in common with a real drive from one end of the US to the other. There are a few bright spots here and there, but it's mostly full of unexpected stops, lots of flat tires, and too many assholes on the road. This isn't the worst Need for Speed, but it can't place against other, better racers from the last year."

Destructoid gave it 8.5, and wrote "A lot of my driving fantasies were realized in this game. I found myself grinning the whole time, gripping the hell out of the controller, leaning into turns with my body, gritting my teeth as I mashed on the nitro button to boost past rivals. If you've ever found yourself daydreaming about whipping past slow cars on the highway, passing on the sidewalk, or bashing police cars off the road, you're going to love this game."

GamePro gave it 6 out of 10, writing "The journey across America is beautifully rendered, capturing the varied landscapes spectacularly as you travel over the Sierra, across the Great Plains, and head towards the East Coast. The quality of the movies is very good too, and the characters' faces are nicely rendered to convey emotion. But the story and the gameplay just don't hold up their side of the bargain, and the game ends up falling short of its considerable potential."

Edge gave it one of its lowest scores, a 3 out of 10, saying "The notion that playing games is a waste of your time is nonsense, of course, but... stuffed with a procession of long-winded loading sequences, protracted menu flipping and unskippable cutscenes, it often feels like there’s as much watching as there is playing. Time wasted, in other words.". They criticized the many technical and graphical glitches, saying "sometimes the lighting effects mix textures into strange oily swirls, while at other times it feels like you’re driving one big polygon.". However, in the post script, they did concede that, while flawed, the game does have a clever concept and occasionally delivers those rare feelings of escapism that many arcade-style racers strive for: "The Run may not have much else going for it, but in its unusual approach to the genre it at least tries to do something new.".

Need for Speed edition

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 afterwards. The Need for Speed and its Special Edition was the only games in the series to support DOS. Subsequent releases for the PC run only within Windows.

The first installment of the NFS was one of only two serious attempts by the series to provide a realistic simulation of car handling and physics without arcade elements (the other being Porsche Unleashed). Electronic Arts teamed up with automotive magazine Road & Track to match vehicle behaviour, including the mimicking of the sounds made by the vehicles' gear control levers. The game also contained precise vehicle data with spoken commentary, several "magazine style" images of each car interior and exterior and even short video-clips highlighting the vehicles set to music.

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. The first version featured chases by police cars, which remained a popular theme throughout the series - the so-called Hot Pursuit editions (Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit, Need for Speed: High Stakes, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Need for Speed: Carbon and Need for Speed: Undercover) and have sold better in the marketplace than intervening versions. The initial version also featured an obnoxious opponent who taunted the player if the computer won the race or the player is arrested (if the player is ticketed several times).

Another version of the game, called The Need for Speed: Special Edition, is based on the 1995 PC release of the game, and was released only for PC CD-ROM in 1996. It featured support for DirectX 2 and TCP/IP networking, two new tracks, time of day variations for most tracks (morning, midday and evening), and various enhancements in the game engine.

Need for Speed II (1997)

Main article: Need for Speed II

Need for Speed II featured some of the rarest and most exotic vehicles ever available, including the Ford Indigo concept vehicle, and features country-themed tracks from North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The PlayStation port of NFS II was the first PlayStation game to take advantage of not only the NeGcon controller, but both the Dual Analog and the DualShock controllers as well.

A new racing mode was also introduced in NFS II dubbed Knockout, where the last racers to finish laps will be eliminated until the only leading racer remains, and wins. Foregoing the realism of the first Need for Speed, NFS II provided a more arcade-like gameplay style, while maintaining the intricately designed levels.^{[verification needed]} In addition, track design was more open-ended; players could now "drive" off the asphalt, and even cut across fields to take advantage of shortcuts.

The special edition of NFS II, Need for Speed II: Special Edition includes one extra track, extra cars, and support for Glide, the then-burgeoning 3D graphics standard used in 3dfx's Voodoo and Voodoo 2 graphics cards.

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, in which the player either attempted to outrun the police or be the cop, arresting speeders.

NFS III took advantage of the multimedia capabilities of the CD-ROM by featuring audio commentary, picture slideshows and music videos. This game also is the first in the series to allow the downloading of additional cars from the official website. As a result, modding communities have sprung up to create more vehicles which would otherwise be unavailable to the game. The PC version is also the first game in Need for Speed series to support Direct 3D hardware 3D acceleration.

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 état de liberté (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 is a racing mode (within Career) in which the reward was the losing player's car. Getaway requires the player to outrun numerous pursuing police vehicles for a given time period. Time Trap is where the racer has to finish a certain amount of laps within the time limit, with police cars trying to slow them down. Career mode incorporates a monetary reward system that allows a player to purchase vehicles and performance upgrades while earning cash by racing in a chronological set of tournaments. Another innovation is the introduction of damage models. Vehicles which have been involved in accidents featured visibly crushed car bodies and suffered from performance penalties. After a race in Career mode, the player is given the option to purchase repairs. The mode also allows players, for the first time, to upgrade cars, although the feature simply consists of switching between three upgrade levels for each car.

The PlayStation version of the game, released some months before the PC version, features improved gameplay. Only all-new tracks were implemented without the additional rehashes from NFS III in the PC version. Additionally, the AI in the game was more advanced; the five AIs known as Nemesis, Bullit, Frost, Ranger, and Chump featured different driving characteristics (i.e. Nemesis would hound the player until a slipup occurs, whilst Bullit exhibits a more aggressive style, occasionally ramming into the player's vehicle). Also, The Aston Martin DB7 was in the game at release, while the PC version required that players would need to download it online to put it in the game. In the PlayStation version, the Mclaren F1 GTR was based on the 1997 Long Tail, while the PC version was based on the original 95/96 version.

Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed/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 different from the previous versions, because it featured only Porsches and featured a wealth of information regarding them.

The vehicle handling is considered the most realistic in any NFS game, and there is an in-depth catalogue of different Porsche parts that span throughout the years. The player had to win races in the Evolution career mode to unlock cars in chronological order from 1950 to 2000. Porsche Unleashed also featured a Factory Driver mode, where the player had to test Porsches with various stunts and move on with their career. The game is also the first in the series since the first NFS game to not feature a split screen mode.

In terms of game construction, it is most often hailed as Need For Speed's best collaborated effort to bring forth one singular car brand and amplify and deepen the depth of knowledge both on history and motor functions. It features historical videos as well as several modern and older photos of Porsche vehicles. The Evolution concept was a hit for many people, creating many new Porsche fans due to the game's high level of academia and depth of Porsche cars. The Factory Driver was also a different kind of unlocking, except to do with performing and excelling in certain slaloms, speed races, deliveries, etc.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (2002)

Main article: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 was the debut Need for Speed title from the newly formed EA Black Box (created after the purchase of Black Box Games in Vancouver), and the first Need for Speed for the sixth generation of consoles. Different 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 Vancouver.

Hot Pursuit 2 draws primarily from the gameplay and style of NFS III; its emphasis was on evading the police and over-the-top tracks featuring lengthy shortcuts. Although the game allowed players to play as the police, the pursuit mode was drastically less realistic than preceding versions of NFS; players merely needed to "tap" a speeder a certain number of times to arrest them, as opposed to using actual police tactics such as the PIT maneuver to immobilize a speeding vehicle.

This was the first Need for Speed version since the start of the series that did not feature a true "in the driving seat" camera view, complete with steering wheel, dashboard etc. In some ways this can be considered to be the landmark in EA's move from realistic racing to arcade street racing. It is also the last game in the Need for Speed series for PC to feature the split-screen two player mode introduced in Need for Speed II. For the multiplayer mode of the PC version, GameSpy's internet matchmaking system was used in place of Local Area Network (LAN) play. Hot Pursuit 2 is also the first Need for Speed to forego an original instrumental rock/techno soundtrack in favor of songs sung by licensed song artists under the EA Trax label.

Second Generation

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 first Need for Speed to require Hardware Transform and Lighting in Graphics Cards. Most of the new elements in Underground have become defining marks of later installments in the Need for Speed series.

Underground proposed a shift from semi-professional racing and isolated circuits to the street racing style of other arcade racing series: all circuits are now part of a single map, Olympic City, except for drifts. Underground game introduced three new play modes (Drag, Drift and Sprint) and tuning with more options than in the previous attempt, High Stakes. Underground was also the first game in the series to feature a story, told via pre-rendered videos, completely rebooting the franchise.

Underground features tuner cars and focuses on the import tuner culture shown in movies like the Fast and the Furious and 2 Fast 2 Furious and this video game has some competition with the Midnight Club Series. The game has a wide variety of tuning options such as widebody kits, bumpers, spoilers, rims, hoods, roof scoops, window tints, neon lighting, decals, vinyls, paint and performance upgrades such as engine and nitrous. City street racing is the primary focus of the game.

Due to law enforcement reasons, there were no cops in Underground and Underground 2, which drew criticism as cops were an important part of previous titles' gameplay. The game received good reviews, which generally criticised cops not being in the game.^{[citation needed]}

Need for Speed: Underground 2 (2004)

Main article: Need for Speed: Underground 2

Need for Speed: Underground 2, the sequel to the commercial hit Need for Speed: Underground, was released on November 15, 2004. A demo of the game was placed as a "late" easter egg in finished copies of the EA Games and Criterion Games collaboration Burnout 3: Takedown, and completed versions of NFSU2 also have a demo of Burnout 3 in the game.

In Underground 2, the story bob continues, but there are new racing modes such as the Underground Racing League and Street X, new and more tuning options, as well as a new method of selecting races—just driving around the city (similar to Grand Theft Auto and Midnight Club II) and selecting race "beacons". Also included is an "outrun" mode where a player can challenge random opponents on the road and the race leader will attempt to distance themselves away from the opponent to defeat the opponent (similar to Tokyo Xtreme Racer). Underground 2 also introduces several SUVs, which could be customized as extensively as other Underground 2 vehicles and used to race against other SUV racers.

The customization features in the game were significantly expanded to modifications that have no actual effect on vehicle performance. The sound systems could be put in the trunk of cars, but served no purpose other than sheer flash. The game also features more extensive product placement for companies with no connection to auto racing, such as integrating the logo for Cingular Wireless, an American wireless communications company, into the game's messaging system and displaying it on-screen for much of the gameplay. This game has extensive amount of customization.

The performance and handling of the car is not only affected from "performance shops", but cosmetic modifications, like spoilers and hoods, which affect the downforce of the car.

Need for Speed: Underground Rivals was the first Need for Speed game released on the PlayStation Portable. It is not the same game as Need for Speed: Underground 2 as it had no free roam and the cars were very limited, and 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.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)

Main article: Need for Speed: Most Wanted

Need for Speed: Most Wanted was developed by EA Canada, released on November 16, 2005, and was one of the first games released for the Xbox 360. It was released on the Gamecube, Xbox 360, PS2, Xbox, GBA, PC and DS. The PSP port of Need for Speed: Most Wanted is Need for Speed: Most Wanted 5-1-0.

Police chases make a comeback and represent a significant body of the gameplay, and includes the Grand Theft Auto-like free-roaming of Underground 2, but with less extensive vehicle customization features than in the Underground series. The customization options are improved slightly in the latter need for speed titles. The story mode is presented in a significantly different style from Underground, with CGI effects mixed with live action, which was used in later games, such as Need For Speed Carbon. The mode also features 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 has to meet certain requirements before he can take on the next Blacklist rival, such as races completed, bounty earned, etc.

A special Black Edition of Most Wanted was also released,features additional races and challenges, and a few bonus cars, including a specially-tuned BMW E46 (M3) GTR, a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, a red Chevrolet Corvette C6.R, a Porsche, and a few others, and also includes a Black Edition-only behind-the-scenes DVD. Both versions of Most Wanted are available for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo DS, and Windows-based PCs. Only the standard edition of Most Wanted is available for GameCube and Xbox 360 ("Black Edition" was not produced for these platforms). Black Edition was made for the tenth anniversary of the Need for Speed series.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted had extremely positive reviews and received universal acclaim from reviewers in all gaming websites and magazines, praising the graphics, sound effects and general gameplay. In 2012, it has been hinted that there will be a sequel to Most Wanted, named Most Wanted 2, as noted by the pre-order existence of the sequel on BTGames^[13]

Need for Speed: Carbon (2006)

Main article: Need for Speed: Carbon

Need for Speed: Carbon was developed by EA Black Box and was released on October 31, 2006, for Windows-based personal computers, Playstation 2 and Xbox 360, and this is the first Need for Speed game for Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii and the last NFS game for Nintendo Gamecube and Xbox, followed by video game consoles and handheld game consoles. Carbon's handheld port is known as Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City. The Wii port lacked online play, but made full use of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.

NFS: Carbon continues the story of the player from Most Wanted, however, the game has far less emphasis on the police than NFS: Most Wanted. Carbon saw the return of nighttime-only racing, and a selection of cars similar to that of Most Wanted, including compact cars and sports cars associated with import culture, American muscle cars, and supercars. Carbon introduces a new feature wherein the player is allowed to form a "crew," to which members with different abilities may be chosen that aid 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 player and a game boss take turns racing down a canyon, trying to stay as close to the leader as possible. The closer the player is to the leader, the more points they accrue. If the player is unable to overtake the leader and remain in front (10 seconds), it will go down to the next round where the player must stay as far ahead as possible to gain more points and win against the boss.

Another new feature is "Autosculpt", which allows players to custom-fabricate their own ground effects, rims, hoods, and other parts. The cars featured on the front cover of game are the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX and Dodge Challenger. The car featured on the front cover of the Collector's Edition is the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.

The Collector's Edition of NFS: Carbon features 4 exclusive cars, 10 pre-tuned cars, 6 new races, 3 unique challenge events, 10 unique vinyls and a Bonus DVD showing the making of Carbon and showcasing all the cars used in the game. The Collector's Edition also features alternate box art and metallic finish packaging. Although the MAC edition doesn't display the Collector's Edition title, but it contains all the Collector's Edition features.

Need for Speed: ProStreet (2007)

Main article: Need for Speed: ProStreet

Need for Speed: ProStreet is the 2007 released title in the Need for Speed series, developed by EA Black Box and released on November 14, 2007 in North America and on November 23, 2007 in Europe.

Key features of the game include realistic damage, a return to realistic racing (instead of the arcade-like racing of previous titles), modeling, burnouts and more.^[14][15] The game also lacks the free roam mode found in earlier releases, which previously allowed players to roam the streets. Instead, all of the races are on closed race tracks that take place on organized race days. The game consisted of Drag races, Speed challenges, Grip races (circuit racing), and drift races.

Sales for the game were poor and critics bashed the game, because of its awkward, unrealistic physics engine, boring single player career mode, and unresponsive controls. The Collector's Edition for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 adds another five new cars. It is available via download from such as PSN and Xbox Live.

Need for Speed: Undercover (2008)

Main article: Need for Speed: Undercover

Need for Speed: Undercover was developed by EA Black Box and was released on November 18, 2008. The game had a significantly longer development cycle than previous games, taking 16 months to develop.^[16] EA Games president Frank Gibeau stated that due to the fact that the sales of ProStreet didn't live up to EA's hopes for the game, the franchise will go back to its "roots" with a number of features, including open-world racing and a new highway battle mode. The game was met with average responses, mostly in the 65% to 70% range, but the responses were higher than ProStreet (one response was higher than 70%, three of them were below a 65%).^[17]

The game focuses on, like Need for Speed: Most Wanted, tuning and cop chases. The game features over 50 cars. The game takes place in a fictional city, in a Tri-city Bay area. The player's role is an undercover cop, trying to stop the racers. The game contains live-action cutscenes which feature the actress Maggie Q. The game also features a damage system and now parts can break off after a crash. However, the player doesn't need to pay for the damage and the car is repaired automatically after each race, unlike 2007's Need for Speed: Pro Street.

The Collector's Edition for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 adds another 5 new cars, and twelve new circuit, sprint and checkpoint track configurations. Also included are specially tuned versions of ten existing cars, which are available in quick race and online modes, plus 35 exclusive vinyls for adding a unique visual style to any of your cars.

EA also ported Undercover to various mobile devices. It is available for purchase and download in the iTunes App Store for the iPod Touch and iPhone, and in the Palm App Catalog for the Palm Pre, and Windows Mobile. It is also the last Need for Speed game for PlayStation 2.

Third Generation

Need for Speed: Shift (2009)

Main article: Need for Speed: Shift

Need for Speed: Shift was developed by Slightly Mad Studios, released on September 15, 2009, primarily centers around legal races in real-life racing circuits around the world, and maintain its mix of exotic, import and muscle cars.

It features over 60 cars, divided into 4 tiers. It features 19 tracks, some of which are actual licensed tracks and others which are fictional. In addition to improved driving simulation and an adaptive difficulty, the game reintroduces cockpit view, the first in the series since Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed. NFS: Shift focuses on racing simulation rather than arcade racing of previous titles. The car featured on the cover page is a BMW E92 M3 GT2.

NFS: Shift received better reviews than the last 3 games in the series, Carbon, ProStreet and Undercover. It gained a 9.0 rating from IGN and the Official Xbox Magazine, while it gained a 7.0 from Eurogamer and Gamespot, who were considerably less impressed. The reviewers generally praised the in-car view of the game and its sense of speed, while most of the criticism revolved around the drift aspect of NFS: Shift.

The Special Edition of NFS: Shift contains a special tuned BMW M3 GT2, and an Elite Series track. Two downloadable contents were released for the game:

• Ferrari DLC Pack, features 10 Ferrari cars and 46 specific Ferrari challenges in career mode. It is exclusively available on the Xbox 360 for 800 Microsoft Points.
• Exotic Racing Pack, features cars like the McLaren MP4-12C, the BMW M1, the Gumpert Apollo and the Honda NSX. It also features new races, a new championship and 5 more trophies for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

 Need for Speed: Nitro (2009)

Main article: Need for Speed: Nitro

Need for Speed: Nitro is the first Need for Speed game made exclusively for Nintendo DS and Wii, featuring arcade-style gameplay and targeting a casual audience. Nitro was released on November 3, 2009 in North America while it was released in Europe on November 6, 2009. Need for Speed: Nitro is also available as a social multiplayer game in Facebook.^[18]

] Need for Speed Nitro-X

A newer installment and the sequel to the original Nitro. Announced shortly after E3 2010, EA released details on bringing the Need For Speed series onto Nintendo's digital distribution DSiWare service for use with the DSi/XL and the 3DS system. Titled Need For Speed: Nitro-X, the game is essentially the original release with a couple of updates, such as 18 licensed vehicles, never-before-driven police units, custom tags for in-game usage with the DSi camera, 16 updated tracks from all 6 original Nitro locations, a revised career mode, local multiplayer matches for up to 4 players, as well as new rewards and unlockables. The game was released as a digital download only and as such, be priced at a premium (800+ Nintendo points). It was originally going to be released on September 20, 2010, but EA delayed the game slightly to work on improving the in-game physics engine. It became re-scheduled for a release on October 8, 2010 in North America but was delayed once again and released on November 15, 2010 in North America and November 26, 2010 in Europe.

Need for Speed: World (2010)

Main article: Need for Speed: World

Need for Speed: World is a free-to-play MMO racing game in development exclusively for Windows-based PCs. It takes on the gameplay style of Most Wanted and Carbon, 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 Rockport and Palmont, the cities of Most Wanted and Carbon respectively, into its map design. World was originally 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.^[19][20] In October 2009, the game was in public beta-testing limited 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 players who didn't purchase the Starter's 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, allowing all players' progression and availability.^[21]

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 Electronic Arts on November 16, 2010.^[22] It focuses on racing and cop chases rather than car customization. Hot Pursuit, as the name implies, tends to return the series to the roots, and is inspired by the original 3DO Need For Speed game. The game won many awards at the E3 2010, including "Best Racing Game" and other "Best of E3"-awards. It is the first game in the Need For Speed series since the original Hot Pursuit to win an E3 award.

There are over 60 cars, most of them are available to both racers and cops, but a few are exclusive to each side.^[23] Most of them are exotics and feature cars such as the Lamborghini Reventon, McLaren F1, Bugatti Veyron and Pagani Zonda Cinque. Unlike previous (recent) NFS titles, there is no customization. The game takes place in a fictional county called Seacrest County, where there are no skyscrapers. The scenery ranges from dense forests to snowy mountains to deserts. The "free roam" feature in the game lets you explore Seacrest County. NFS: Hot Pursuit lets you play as either a cop or racer, and has a separate career mode for each side. The game's primary focus is to provide players with high speed cop vs racer chases.

The game also features many weapons. Some are exclusive to the cops or racers. Power-ups include spike strips, which are used by both cops and racers and activate a spike strip from the back of the car and lay it on the road, and EMPs (ElectroMagnetic Pulses) which are used by both cops and racers and can be used for taking down cops or racers, or for performing takedowns (which is an important feature of the Burnout series). Other weapons include helicopters and roadblocks for cops and turbo and jammers for racers.

The biggest feature about NFS: Hot Pursuit is NFS Autolog, which track player progressions and statistics compared to other player and recommends players 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. This Autolog feature carried on in its next generation in Shift 2: Unleashed. NFS: Hot Pursuit has received some of the best reviews of the series, which generally praise the Autolog feature of the game and the cop vs racer chases.

The Limited Edition gives players exclusive access to the racer version of Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione and Ford Shelby GT500. Also included are four unlocked vehicles from the start (cop version of Porsche Cayman S and Dodge Challenger SRT8 and racer version of Audi TT RS Coupe and Chevrolet Camaro SS). Various downloadable content were released for the game:

• The Super Sports Pack, features 13 new events, additional trophies/achievements and 3 new cars, Porsche 911 GT2 RS, Gumpert Apollo S and Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.
• The Armed & Dangerous Pack, features 2 new online game mode, Most Wanted and "Arms Race", along with 3 achievements/trophies.
• The Lamborghini Untamed Pack, features 3 Lamborghini cars, Lamborghini Diablo, Countach, and Sesto Elemento, with 10 new events and 4 achievements/trophies.
• The Porsche Unleashed, features 3 Porsche cars, Porsche 911 Turbo (1982 Edition), 959 and 911 Speedster, with 10 new events and 4 achievements/trophies.

Shift 2: Unleashed (2011)

Main article: Shift 2: Unleashed

Shift 2: Unleashed was developed by Slightly Mad Studios, released on March 29, 2011 and is the sequel to 2009's Need for Speed: Shift. Shift 2 expands on the gameplay and features introduced with the original.

Shift 2 includes the Autolog feature introduced with Hot Pursuit, which allows players to keep track of their friends progress of achievements as well as best lap times.^[24] It also includes features such as night racing, an in-helmet camera, a more in depth career mode with different areas to complete. The driver aggression/precision aspect of scoring has been taken away to free up the game, and to focus more on the driving experience rather than getting points divided into two sections. There were many minor improvements (including a full damage model now, and improved car flip physics) that were added to Shift 2 and polished the game in its entirety.

Shift 2 features more than 140 licensed vehicles available for racing and tuning, a smaller number compared with racing sims such as Forza Motorsport 3 and Gran Turismo 5. However, executive producer Marcus Nilsson said the studio wanted to concentrate on having only the must-have speedsters. There are also 40 real-world locations including Bathurst, Spa-Francorchamps and Suzuka as well as fictional circuits like downtown London and Shanghai.

The Limited Edition features 3 unlocked cars from the start (the Nissan Silvia Spec-R Aero, Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV and Lamborghini Murciélago LP640) and additional 37 career race events, which include Old vs. New matchups, Manufacturer Battles and Single Manufacturer races.^[25] Two downloadable contents were released for Shift 2:

• The Legends Pack, featured 13 classic cars ranging between 1960s and 1970s, such as 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint, 1971 Ford Escort Mk1 RS1 600, 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 3.0, and 5 classic race tracks ranging between 1950s and 1980s, for example, 1950 Monza, 1975 Silverstone, and 1982 Hockenheim.
• The Speedhunters Pack, featured 2 new game modes, Drag and Standing Mile, as well as 14 new cars (12 Speedhunter-modified models, 2 models upon beating Drag and/or Standing Mile rivals.)

 Need for Speed: The Run (2011)

Main article: Need for Speed: The Run

Need for Speed: The Run was developed by the series primary developer EA Black Box, released on November 15, 2011. The Run was in development since Black Box's 2008 entry in the series, Undercover, which received universally poor ratings. The game continues the action focused street-racing gameplay of Black Box's previous titles. The story is based on a race across the United States from San Francisco to New York.

The game features quick time events, with the player for the first time in Need for Speed history, exiting their car and traveling on foot. The Run is powered by DICE's Frostbite 2 engine, making the game the first non-shooter and one of the first console titles to use the engine. Additionally, NFS Autolog, the Need for Speed franchise's social competition functionality, which was introduced in Hot Pursuit and was previously used in Shift 2: Unleashed, is also back as it continue to track career progression and compare game stats.

The Run employs a large range of real-world vehicles, seemingly taking in the usual mix of muscle cars, street racers and refined exotics. The cars can be altered with performance upgrades and visual upgrades, such as paint colors and body kits. There are cosmetic body kits known as Style Pack kits and Aero Pack kits, which affect aerodynamics as well as performance. An XP (Experience points) system is used for unlocking cars and events.

The Limited Edition features three exclusive cars (the Lamborghini Aventador, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and Porsche 911 Carrera S) and five exclusive challenges with bonus rewards and achievements.

Future

EA's strategy is to provide the mass-market audience with an action adventure type NFS game annually for the holiday season. They alternate between several studios to ensure sufficient development time is given to provide a high quality entertainment experience in each product. With Criterion's Hot Pursuit released in November 2010, The Run was in development by Black Box and released in November 2011. In addition, more authentic NFS games, i.e. under the Shift sub-series, will be released when the market permits and the developers feel ready.^[26]

In an interview EA Black Box's Jason DeLong, who is also senior producer on The Run, was asked how important breaking out of the yearly cycle was to the development team. He replied by calling the move a "huge step" that allowed Black Box to take the necessary steps to ensure The Run is the highest quality product it can be. DeLong went on to praise EA for recognising that the extra time is a necessity by adopting "a split studio development, similar to what Activision did with Call of Duty and Treyarch and Infinity Ward".^[27]

Main article: Need for Speed 19

In November 2011, it was revealed that Criterion Games is developing another Need For Speed game, according to a job advertisement. According to the job listing, the studio is "looking for talented Cinematic Artists to work on the world’s number one, multi award winning, arcade racing franchise." According to the listing, players should expect "entertaining, compelling in-game cinematic action sequences" from the racer, as well as "intense car action sequences, terrifying jumps, insane crashes and epic car chases." Earlier in the year another job ad revealed that Criterion was developing a game with "believable, open world AI Racing Drivers."^[28][29] On January 11, 2012, retailer GAME revealed that EA plans to release Medal of Honor: Warfighter and a new entry in the Need for Speed series later that year, which was shown by EA during a confidential presentation. However, the developer and what direction the racing series takes in 2012 was not revealed.^[30][31] On January 23, 2012, Criterion's creative director, Craig Sullivan, said on Twitter that the Guildford-based studio has "lots to share over the coming months". Sullivan didn't provide any further details, except to say the upcoming announcement/s are "going to be BIG".^[32] On April 8, 2012, South African-based online retailer BTGames, the retailer that listed the existence of Jak and Daxter Collection, listed both Need for Speed: Most Wanted 2 and Dead Space 3 for pre-order.^[13] On May 7, 2012, EA confirmed that new entries in both the Dead Space and Need For Speed franchises will be on shelves by March 2013.^[33] The unnamed and very much unannounced Need for Speed game is down for a Q3 F2013 release, which would be any time between October and Christmas 2012.^[34]

Upcoming film adaption

According to Variety, EA are teaming up with Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. to make a film version of Need For Speed with brothers George and John Gatins as screenwriters.^[35][36] Independent film studios are also after the rights.

Decline

In the past few years particularly after the release of Need for Speed: Most Wanted, the series has seen a sharp decline in sales as well as a heavy downgrade in critical reception. Many fans and critics have heavily criticized the developers for distancing the series from its original roots which included street racing atmosphere, scenic drives, exotic cars, split screen, quick-race modes, and no car customization.^[37][38] In September 2010, EA admitted that the decline in both sales and quality of the Need for Speed franchise was its own fault - for overworking one of its studios, Black Box. EA's CEO John Riccitiello stated "In the '04 to '07 period, we had a single studio, Black Box, up in Vancouver, building our [NFS games]. And we literally had them on a 'death march' building for five years in a row. [They were] annual iterations, they had to put it out; no rest for the weary... It was definitely our fault. Those days are gone. We're back in two studios and we've got them on bi-annual cycles."^[39] In 2010, Criterion Games revived the series with the release of Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, as it won several awards, became the highest rated game in Need For Speed's history, and sold more than 8.5 million copies.^[40] However, in 2011, EA Black Box extended the downfall with the release of Need for Speed: The Run, as it got mixed reviews and was overall considered a huge disappointment in comparison to Hot Pursuit.^[41][42][43] The Run failed to penetrate the top ten on the British weekly video game sales charts in its first week of release, debuting at 11th place in its first week - an unusual failure for a popular racing game IP. For reference, Hot Pursuit landed in third place in its first week, with sales around double that of The Run.^[37][38]