Latest News About Need for Speed And Its Comming Titles

Electronic Arts has confirmed its intention of “polishing” the Need for Speed series, with the release of images for the latest title, Need for Speed: Shift, scheduled to launch on PSP, PC, XBox 360 and PlayStation 3 next Autumn.

Developed by Slightly Mad Studios (responsible for GTR2 and GT Legend), Need for Speed: Shift tries to walk away from the previous title’s atmospheres and offer a realistic playability without neglecting the graphic aspects.

Will EA and Slightly Mad manage to keep the promise and deliver a good Need for Speed title? We will have to wait and see, and in the meantime, here’s a few images of Need for Speed: Shift. Enjoy.

Shift into high gear! Designed to deliver a true driver’s experience that reflects contemporary motorsports, Need for Speed SHIFT is built by racers for racers. Need for Speed SHIFT delivers an authentic and immersive driving experience developed by Slightly Mad Studios in collaboration with executive producer Michael Mann at Black Box and senior vice president Patrick Soderlund at EA Games Europe. Slightly Mad Studios includes developers and designers that worked on the critically acclaimed games GT Legends and GTR 2.

Need for Speed SHIFT replicates the true feeling of racing high-end performance cars like never before. Players are thrust into the heart of the action with immersive and exciting features including a stunningly realistic first-person cockpit view camera and an all-new crash mechanic, providing an unrivaled sensation of the speed and feeling of racing a car on the extreme edge of control.
Soderlund is also part of a racing team that recently competed in the 4th edition of the TOYO TIRES 24H Dubai 2009, the first major race event of the year. His team ranked #5 in the high-profile race. Soderlund and the SHIFT development team are committed to bringing the on-the-track experience to players across the world.
Need for Speed SHIFT will be released on PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) and PC in fall 2009.

Four new Need for Speed titles coming this year:

Electronic Arts has revealed its plans to re-structure the Need for Speed franchise by releasing three separate core, casual and 'Play 4 Free' games this year, and another "secret project" at a later date.

Need for Speed: Shift

A hardcore simulation with police', will be developed by Slightly Mad Studios, who will work alongside Black Box producer Michael Mann, and senior Vice-President of EA Games Europe, Patrick Soderland, to bring the title to the PC, PS3, PSP and Xbox 360 this Autumn.

EA Marketing boss, Keith Munro, said:
The urban underground was a manifestation of style in some past Need for Speed games for sure, but Shift focuses less on these style cues and more on mirroring the driver experience, that athleticism of being in a wickedly-intense race, and what it really feels like to be behind the wheel.

What will help to achieve the feeling of being right behind the wheel is a cockpit view that lets players freely look around, and also a 3D HUD that mimics driver head movement, inertia and G-force.

Need for Speed Shift is amazing and I think it will blow people away, the tech behind that game, the details that only a team with such racing pedigree could accomplish, and the ability to make you feel the intensity of a race is unprecedented. I can't wait for our fans to begin experiencing it!

Need for Speed: Nitro

is being developed at EA Montreal, and will be an "arcade racer with a fresh and unique visual style that is very Need for Speed." Nitro will be released this Autumn as well, for the Wii and Nintendo DS.

Need for Speed Nitro on the Wii and DS will not be a Mario Kart clone - Nintendo already does an excellent job with that. The game will be rich and deep and will appeal to experienced arcade racers as well as casual players. What you'll see is that Nitro in no way resembles any other previous Need for Speed title.

Need for Speed: World Online

is a PC-exclusive free-to-play MMO due for release in Asia this summer, and later on in the West as well. World Online will be created by EA Black Box and the online EA Singapore studio.

This is not so much a proof of concept - it is a full-fledged launch in a market that we are very ambitious toward. This Play 4 Free action racing game will give Need for Speed fans the most licensed cars, parts and game modes ever in Need for Speed's history.

Players will prove their racing supremacy through the sophisticated online matchmaking features and fully customise their profile and their ride. Once Need for Speed World Online has been successfully deployed in Asia, we will expand the game's reach by offering the service to PC gamers around the world.

Fourth Title Underdevelopment:

EA has also revealed that in addition to these three games, another future action title is currently under development by series regular Black Box. No further details about the secret project were revealed.

This isn't about quantity, this is about crafting different games for different audiences and their unique tastes in the driving category.

The motivation was purely driven by our understanding of racing gamers and their desire to experience different kinds of racing games. I would say that our strategy is the inverse of milking; it is an intentionally non-traditional approach.

So far, all this sounds quite promising. No matter what type of gamer you are; 'hardcore', casual or online, with the separation of the franchise into three distinct genres, EA will have the game that will fill your needs.

With recent Need for Speed titles having been unsuccessful, many will put in doubt the success of these four games, as would be reasonable. EA are said to remain committed to taking creative risks, and this is one of them.

Is it really going to happen that EA will surprise us and create a number of games, or at least one, which will really be worth buying and playing, unlike the recent mediocre titles in the NFS series? One thing is for sure - Need for Speed fans are going to be busy this year.