Need for Speed

Need for Speed
Series typeface and logo used since the 2015 reboot.
Genres	Racing
Developers	Pioneer Productions, EA Canada, EA Seattle, Eden Studios, Pocketeers, EA Black Box, EA Vancouver, Exient Entertainment, Firebrand Games, Piranha Games, Slightly Mad Studios, EA Bright Light, Criterion Games, Ghost Games, Firemonkeys Studios, EA Spearhead
Publishers	Electronic Arts
Platforms	Sega Saturn, MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo GameCube, Wii, Wii U, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, 3DO, Zeebo, iOS, Android, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, Mobile game, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Game Boy Advance
Platform of origin	3DO
First release	The Need for Speed August 31, 1994
Latest release	Need for Speed November 3, 2015

Need for Speed, also known by its initials NFS, is a racing video game franchise published by Electronic Arts and developed by several studios including EA Black Box, Criterion Games and Ghost Games.

The series released its first title, The Need for Speed in 1994. The title comes from a famous quote from the 1986 film Top Gun. All installments of the series consist of racing cars on various tracks, with several titles including police pursuits in races. Since Need for Speed: High Stakes, the series has also 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 150 million copies of games in the series have been sold to date.^[1]

In June 2012, following Black Box's 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 staff consisted of 80% of former Criterion Games employees.^[3][4]

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 being to win the race. In the tournament/career mode, the player must win a series of races in order to unlock vehicles and tracks. Before each race, the player chooses a vehicle, 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 significantly. For example, in some games the cars can suffer 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 racing 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 approach to racing, featuring closed-circuit racing on real tracks like the Nürburgring and the Laguna Seca, and fictional 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 pursuits in some form or other. In some of the games featuring 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 player's vehicle.^[6] In drag races, the player must finish first 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 including how the car looks. Each game has car tuning which can set options for items like ABS, traction control), or downforce, or for upgrading parts like the engine or gearbox. Visual tuning of the player's car becomes important 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 fictional magazine.^[7]

Like all racing games, the Need for Speed series features 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 Murciélago, 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 available for use in some games, such as the Ford Crown Victoria in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and garbage trucks, fire 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 fictional metropolitan cities.^[10] The first game featured traffic on "head to head" mode, while later games traffic can be toggled on and off, and starting with Underground, traffic is a fixed obstacle.^[10]

Setting

The Need for Speed series is set in a fictional version of the world, in a number of different time periods. some are Motor City • Olympic City • Bayview • Rockport • Palmont City • Coast City • Tri-City Bay Seacrest County • Fairhaven City • Redview County • Ventura Bay

Development

Timeline of release years

1994 –		– The Need for Speed
1995 –
1996 –
1997 –		– Need for Speed II
1998 –		– Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit
1999 –		– Need for Speed: High Stakes
2000 –		– Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed
2001 –
2002 –		– Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
2003 –		– Need for Speed: Underground
2004 –		– Need for Speed: Underground 2
2005 –		– Need for Speed: Most Wanted
2006 –		– Need for Speed: Carbon
2007 –		– Need for Speed: ProStreet
2008 –		– Need for Speed: Undercover
2009 –		– Need for Speed: Shift – Need for Speed: Nitro
2010 –		– Need for Speed: World – Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
2011 –		– Shift 2: Unleashed – Need for Speed: The Run
2012 –		– Need for Speed: Most Wanted
2013 –		– Need for Speed Rivals
2014 –
2015 –		– Need for Speed: No Limits – Need for Speed

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 expand the Need for Speed franchise up to 2002, when another Vancouver-based gaming company, named Black Box Games, was contracted to continue the series with Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2.^[12] EA Black Box has been the primary series developer on a yearly cycle from 2002-08. In 2009, EA brought in Slightly Mad Studios, due to sagging sales, and they released Need for Speed: Shift, and EA's own UK-based company Criterion Games came with Hot Pursuit in 2010. In 2011, Slightly Mad Studios released a sequel to Shift, Shift 2: Unleashed and EA Black Box released Need for Speed: The Run.

In 2010, EA introduced a social platform, titled Autolog, for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and future games in the series. Autolog provides social features for Need for Speed games via a mobile app and website; it allows players to track game progress, view leaderboards, share screenshots with friends, and more.^[13]

Series overview

There have been 22 games released in the Need for Speed series. Six games were developed by EA Canada, two by Eden Games and two by Criterion Games.

All games of the Need for Speed-series by system

Title	Year	PC	Consoles	Handheld	Developer	Notes
The Need for Speed	1994	DOS	3DO, Saturn, PS1	N/A	Pioneer Studios EA Canada	3DO version was the first version to be released
Need for Speed II	1997	Windows	PS1	N/A	EA (Canada/Seattle)	Prototypes and showcars available.
NFS III: Hot Pursuit	1998	Windows	PS1	N/A	EA (Canada/Seattle)
NFS: High Stakes	1999	Windows	PS1	N/A	EA (Canada/Seattle)	Road Challenge (Europe, Brazil)
NFS: Porsche Unleashed	2000	Windows	PS1	GBA	Eden Games/EA Canada Pocketeers	Porsche 2000 (Europe), Porsche (Germany, Latin America)
NFS: Hot Pursuit 2	2002	Windows	NGC, PS2, Xbox	N/A	EA (Black Box/Seattle)
NFS: Underground	2003	Windows	NGC, PS2, Xbox	GBA	EA Black Box
NFS: Underground 2	2004	Windows	NGC, PS2, Xbox	GBA, Mobile, NDS, PSP^1	EA Black Box
NFS: Most Wanted	2005	Windows	NGC, PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360	GBA, Mobile, NDS, PSP	EA Black Box
NFS: Carbon	2006	Windows, Mac OS X	NGC, PS2, Xbox, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360	Mobile, NDS, PSP	EA (Canada/Black Box)
NFS: ProStreet	2007	Windows	PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360	Mobile, NDS, PSP	EA Black Box
NFS: Undercover	2008	Windows	PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360	Mobile, NDS, PSP, Windows Mobile, iOS	EA Vancouver Exient Entertainment Firebrand Games Piranha Games
NFS: Shift	2009	Windows	PS3, Xbox 360	PSP, Mobile, Windows Mobile, Android, iOS	Slightly Mad Studios EA Bright Light
NFS: Nitro	2009	N/A	Wii	NDS	Firebrand Games EA Montreal	The DSiWare version was called Need for Speed: Nitro-X.
NFS: World	2010	Windows	N/A	N/A	EA Singapore	Free-to-play MMO racing game; closed in 2015.
NFS: Hot Pursuit	2010	Windows	PS3, Wii, Xbox 360	Windows Phone, Android, iOS	Criterion Games	Wii version by Exient Entertainment
Shift 2: Unleashed	2011	Windows	PS3, Xbox 360	iOS	Slightly Mad Studios	Also known as Need for Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed
NFS: The Run	2011	Windows	PS3, Wii, Xbox 360	3DS	EA Black Box	Wii/3DS versions by Firebrand Games
NFS: Most Wanted (2012)	2012	Windows	PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360	PS Vita, Android, iOS	Criterion Games	Wii U version (released 2013) was titled Need for Speed: Most Wanted U
NFS: Rivals	2013	Windows	PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One	N/A	Ghost Games Criterion Games	Need for Speed Rivals Complete Edition was released 21 October, 2014 (including all DLC packs & pre-order bonuses).
NFS: No Limits	2015	N/A	N/A	Android, iOS	Firemonkeys Studios
Need for Speed (2015)	2015	Windows	PS4, Xbox One	N/A	Ghost Games
NFS: Edge	In development	Windows	Unknown	N/A	EA Spearhead	Free-to-play MMO racing game. Published by Nexon. (South Korea)

^{^1} The PSP version was called Need for Speed: Underground 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.

Installments

The Need for Speed (1994)

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 were the only games in the series to support DOS, with subsequent releases for the PC run only within Windows.

The first installment of The Need for Speed was the only serious attempt by the series to provide a realistic simulation of car handling elements through the direct collaboration of Staff members from Road & Track. Electronic Arts left the handling dynamics tuning with the automotive magazine's seasoned drivers to match vehicle 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 commentary, several "magazine style" images of each car, and 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. This version featured chases by police cars, a popular theme throughout the series.

Another version, called The Need for Speed: Special Edition, 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 flip and go in favor of the more generic scene reset after an accident, a portents of the arcade style gaming that would dominate the series ever after.

Need for Speed II (1997)

Need for Speed II (NFS II) featured some rare and exotic vehicles, including the Ford Indigo concept vehicle, and featured 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 the NeGcon controller, and the Dual Analog and DualShock controllers as well. A new racing mode was also introduced, dubbed "Knockout", where the last racers to finish laps will be eliminated. In addition, track design was more open-ended; players could now "drive" off the asphalt, and cut across fields to take advantage of shortcuts. Need for Speed II: Special Edition includes one extra track, extra cars, and support for Glide.

Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit (1998)

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 music videos. This game was the first in the series to allow the downloading of additional cars from the official website. As a result, modding communities sprang up to create vehicles. The PC version was also the first game in the series to support Direct 3D hardware.

Need for Speed: High Stakes/Road Challenge (1999)

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 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 repairs. The mode also allows players, for the first time, to upgrade cars.

The PlayStation version of the game, released some months before the PC version, featured improved gameplay. The AI in the game was more advanced: the five AIs known as Nemesis, Bullit, Frost, Ranger, and Chump featured different driving characteristics. 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)

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.

The vehicle handling in the PC version was said to be the most realistic in any NFS game, but like the PS1 version had very simplified arcade handling that fell woefully short of the Hallmark handling offered in the first game. The player had to win races 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 to move forward in the game, and did not feature a split screen mode.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (2002)

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 was the debut NFS title from EA Black Box, and the first NFS for the sixth generation 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 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 simulated police tactics to immobilize a speeding vehicle.

This was the first version since the start of the series not to feature an "in the driving seat" camera view, transitioning EA from realistic racing to arcade street racing. It was the last game in the series for the PC version 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 was also the first NFS game to use songs sung by licensed artists under the EA Trax label.

Need for Speed: Underground (2003)

Need for Speed: Underground was developed by EA Black Box and released on November 17, 2003. This was the first NFS game to require Hardware Transform and Lighting in Graphics Cards. Most of the new elements in Underground became defining 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 two new play modes (Drag and Drift) and more tuning options than in the earlier High Stakes. Underground was also the first 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, spoilers, 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.

Need for Speed: Underground 2 (2004)

Need for Speed: Underground 2, was developed by EA Black Box and released on November 15, 2004. A demo of the game was placed as a bonus in copies of 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 significantly expanded on modifications which did not affect vehicle performance. Players were required to customize their car to a certain numerical value in order to be offered 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 racing. 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 first Need for Speed game released on the PlayStation Portable. Different 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.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)

Need for Speed: Most Wanted was developed by EA Black Box, released on November 16, 2005, and was one of the first 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 significant body of the gameplay, and include the free-roaming aspect of Underground 2, but with less extensive vehicle customization features. The story mode is a different style from Underground, with CGI effects 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.

A special 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 versions were available for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo DS, and Windows-based PCs, while only the standard 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 websites and magazines, praising the graphics, sound effects and general gameplay. With 16 million copies sold worldwide, it's the best-selling game in the franchise.^[14] 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.

Need for Speed: Carbon (2006)

Need for Speed: Carbon was developed by EA Black Box and released on October 31, 2006. It was the first NFS game for the PlayStation 3 and the Wii and the last NFS game for the Nintendo GameCube, the Game Boy Advance, and the Xbox. Carbon's 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 "crew" 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.

The Collector's Edition Featuring three new cars, ten specially tuned cars, six new races, and a bonus DVD with behind-the-scenes footage on the making of the game.

Need for Speed: ProStreet (2007)

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.^[15][16] 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 challenges, grip races (circuit racing), and drift races.

Need for Speed: Undercover (2008)

Need for Speed: Undercover, developed by EA Black Box, was released on November 18, 2008. The game had a significantly longer development cycle than previous games, taking 16 months to develop.^[17] EA Games president Frank Gibeau stated that since sales of ProStreet didn't live up to EA's 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 fictional city. The player's 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 off after a crash.

The Collector's Edition for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 added another 5 new cars, twelve new circuits, and sprint and checkpoint track configurations. Also included were specially tuned versions of ten existing cars, plus 35 exclusive 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.

Need for Speed: Shift (2009)

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 fictional. Improved driving simulation was accompanied by an adaptive difficulty, while it reintroduced a cockpit view. NFS: Shift focused on racing 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.

Need for Speed: Nitro (2009)

Need for Speed: Nitro is the first NFS 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 and in Europe on November 6, 2009. Need for Speed: Nitro was also available as a social multiplayer game on Facebook.^[18]

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 unlockables. The game was released as a digital download only, released on November 15, 2010 in North America and November 26, 2010 in Europe.

Need for Speed: World (2010)

Need for Speed: World was a free-to-play MMO racing game exclusively for Windows-based PCs.

It took on the gameplay style of Most Wanted and Carbon, focusing on illegal street racing, tuning and police chases, and adding classic MMO elements to the mix. World even incorporated 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 Pack were not 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. Currently players are limited to 60 levels only. It has a garage of 150+ Cars.^[21]

The final checkered flag for NFSW: On April 15, 2015 it was announced that Need for Speed World would be closing its servers on July 14, 2015. They soon after removed the ability to create new accounts for the game and began winding down their support for it. Since the announcement, there have been several "end of the world" promotions and in game events but many of the players have since moved on.^[22]

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010)

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit was developed by British games developer Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts on November 16, 2010.^[23] It focuses on racing and police chases rather than car customization. The game won many awards at the E3 2010, including "Best Racing Game", becoming the first 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.^[24] Unlike previous NFS titles, there was no customization, and the game takes place in a fictional 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 exclusive to the cops or racers. The biggest feature introduced 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.

Shift 2: Unleashed (2011)

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 introduced in Hot Pursuit.^[25] 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 compared with other racing games such as Forza Motorsport 3 and Gran Turismo 5. There are also 40 real-world locations including Bathurst, Spa-Francorchamps and Suzuka as well as fictional circuits.

The Limited Edition features 3 unlocked cars, and an additional 37 career race events.^[26] Two downloadable contents were released for Shift 2.

Need for Speed: The Run (2011)

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 Box's previous 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 first 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 first non-shooter and one of the first 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 visual upgrades. An XP (Experience points) system is used for unlocking cars and events. The Limited Edition features three exclusive cars and five exclusive challenges with bonus rewards and achievements.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012)

Need for Speed: Most Wanted was developed by British games developer Criterion Games, and released on October 30, 2012. The game picked up on the Most Wanted IP, as opposed to the Hot Pursuit extension.^[27] This was the first game made subsequent to Criterion Games taking 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 different locations.^[28] 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.^[29] Milestones and achievements are unlocked through a variety of ways, e.g. completion of races and breaking through billboards.

Need for Speed: Rivals (2013)

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,^[30] on November 19, 2013 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360^[30] and on November 22, 2013 for the Xbox One.^[30] It runs on DICE's Frostbite 3 Engine. It has the same basic concept as Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, but with new features like the AllDrive system, and several pursuit techs. Need for Speed: Rivals is the first need for speed to require a constant internet connection to play the game.

Need for Speed: No Limits (2015)

Need for Speed: No Limits was released in 2015 for iOS and Android, and a mobile installment in the Need for Speed video game series, developed by Firemonkeys Studios and published by Electronic Arts. It is the franchise's first original title made exclusively for mobile devices, unlike past mobile games in the series that were simply adaptations of various Need for Speed games.

Need for Speed (2015)

On May 21, 2015, EA and Ghost Games revealed Need for Speed, a full reboot of the franchise. The game was released on November 3, 2015 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with a release for Microsoft Windows (via Origin) in 2016. More information on the game was revealed during the EA press conference at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2015 on June 15, 2015. A new trailer was released and a short gameplay demo was shown.^[31] Beta released on PS4 and Xbox One. PC version has released on 15th March 2016 via origin in two different editions. The Standard Edition is the base edition, whereas the Deluxe Edition has the styling pack, performance pack, tricked-out starter car, exclusive wraps, unique identifying stickers, VIP icons and lifetime discount on all items using the in-game currency. ^[32]

Need for Speed: Edge (2016)

Need for Speed: Edge is an upcoming free-to-play MMO racing game which is currently in development by EA Spearhead (formerly EA Korea) and published by Nexon. It is the third free-to-play game in the franchise overall, also the only free-to-play racing game that runs on Frostbite 3 game engine. It is based on the 2013 title, Need for Speed Rivals.^[33]

Other games

There are three games which are associated with, but not part of, the NFS series.

Need for Speed: V-Rally (1997)

When V-Rally: Championship Edition was released in 1997, it was developed by the European based company, 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.^[34][35]) A rally racing video game, it was published 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.^[36]

Need for Speed: V-Rally 2 (1999)

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.^[37]

Motor City Online (2001)

Originally conceived as part of the Need for Speed series under the title Need for Speed: Motor City,^[38] 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 offline less than 2 years later to enable EA to focus on The Sims Online. Later, EA, would develop a new online racing game, called Need for Speed: World.^[39]

Future

At E3 2012, Criterion vice president Alex Ward announced that random developers would no longer be developing NFS titles. Ward wouldn't confirm 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][40]

In April 2013, Electronic Gaming Monthly published a report that Need for Speed: Underground could be the next NFS game.^[41] However that report was contradicted hours later by Ward.^[42][43] Initially it was suspected that Criterion would not be developing racing games in the short-term, but Ward clarified that he was speaking personally and not speaking for the studio.^[44]

As of October 2013, there are no known Need for Speed titles in development apart from Rivals. In an interview with VideoGamer, the head of Ghost Games, Marcus Nilsson, stated that Ghost owned the Need for Speed franchise, and they were working to restore the credibility of the franchise.^[45] He also suggested a sequel to Underground 2 if the conditions were right.^[46] 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 - Most Wanted - Carbon series.^[47]

The next title in the series, Need for Speed, a full reboot of the franchise, was released on November 3, 2015 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The Windows version will be released in early 2016.

As of January 2016, Ghost Games has begun development of the next Need for Speed title. ^[48]

Reception

Aggregate review scores
As of June 3, 2015.

Game	GameRankings	Metacritic
The Need for Speed	(SAT) 95.00%[49] (DOS) 83.00%[50] (PS) 68.50%[51]
Need for Speed II	(PS1) 71.39%[52] (PC) 68.25%[53]	(PS1) 71/100[54]
Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit	(PS1) 85.63%[55] (PC) 84.82%[56]	(PS1) 88/100[57]
Need for Speed: High Stakes	(PS1) 84.38%[58] (PC) 83.08%[59]	(PS1) 86/100[60]
Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed	(PC) 84.36%[61] (PS1) 74.50%[62] (GBA) 59.25%[63]	(PS1) 78/100[64] (GBA) 62/100[65]
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2	(PS2) 88.01%[66] (Xbox) 80.04%[67] (PC) 72.77%[68] (GC) 72.05%[69]	(PS2) 89/100[70] (Xbox) 75/100[71] (PC) 73/100[72] (GC) 68/100[73]
Need for Speed: Underground	(PS2) 84.29%[74] (GC) 83.73%[75] (PC) 82.29%[76] (Xbox) 81.76%[77] (GBA) 77.33%[78]	(PS2) 85/100[79] (GC) 83/100[80] (Xbox) 83/100[81] (PC) 82/100[82] (GBA) 77/100[83]
Need for Speed: Underground 2	(PC) 83.50%[84] (Xbox) 82.61%[85] (PS2) 80.77%[86] (GC) 79.98%[87] (GBA) 69.45%[88] (NDS) 65.44%[89]	(PC) 82/100[90] (PS2) 82/100[91] (Xbox) 77/100[92] (GBA) 72/100[93] (NDS) 65/100.[94]
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)	(X360) 83.05%[95] (Xbox) 82.59%[96] (PS2) 81.56%[97] (PC) 81.50%[98] (GC) 79.36%[99] (GBA) 67.33%[100] (NDS) 46.89%[101]	(X360) 83/100[102] (Xbox) 83/100[103] (PS2) 82/100[104] (PC) 82/100[105] (GC) 80/100[106] (NDS) 45/100[107]
Need for Speed: Carbon	(PC) 78.47%[108] (X360) 77.51%[109] (PS3) 76.26%[110] (PS2) 75.04%[111] (GC) 74.25%[112] (Xbox) 73.28%[113] (PSP) 71.00%[114] (GBA) 69.33%[115] (NDS) 66.50%[116] (Wii) 65.39%[117]	(PC) 78/100[118] (X360) 77/100[119] (PS3) 75/100[120] (GC) 75/100[121] (PS2) 74/100[122] (Xbox) 74/100[123] (PSP) 73/100[124] (NDS) 70/100[125] (Wii) 67/100[126]
Need for Speed: ProStreet	(NDS) 74.83%[127] (PS3) 72.87%[128] (X360) 72.17%[129] (PC) 69.12%[130] (Wii) 63.94%[131] (PS2) 60.64%[132] (PSP) 60.38%[133]	(NDS) 74/100[134] (PS3) 73/100[135] (X360) 72/100[136] (PC) 70/100[137] (PS2) 62/100[138] (Wii) 61/100[139] (PSP) 57/100[140]
Need for Speed: Undercover	(X360) 64.58%[141] (PS3) 62.66%[142] (PC) 61.70%[143] (NDS) 58.20%[144] (PS2) 58.00%[145] (Wii) 53.92%[146] (PSP) 50.50%[147]	(PC) 65/100[148] (X360) 64/100[149] (PS3) 59/100[150] (NDS) 59/100[151] (Wii) 54/100[152] (PSP) 52/100[153]
Need for Speed: Shift	(PS3) 83.59%[154] (X360) 82.84%[155] (PC) 82.36%[156] (PSP) 69.60%[157]	(PS3) 84/100[158] (X360) 83/100[159] (PC) 83/100[160] (PSP) 69/100[161]
Need for Speed: Nitro	(Wii) 73.31%[162] (NDS) 71.71%[163]	(NDS) 70/100[164] (Wii) 69/100[165]
Need for Speed: World	(PC) 63.83%[166]	(PC) 62/100[167]
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010)	(PS3) 88.86%[168] (X360) 87.21%[169] (PC) 86.19%[170] (Wii) 45.83%[171]	(PS3) 89/100[172] (X360) 88/100[173] (PC) 86/100[174] (Wii) 50/100[175]
Shift 2: Unleashed	(PC) 83.08%[176] (X360) 81.91%[177] (PS3) 80.40%[178]	(PC) 84/100[179] (X360) 82/100[180] (PS3) 81/100[181]
Need for Speed: The Run	(Wii) 70.00%[182] (X360) 69.92%[183] (3DS) 68.20%[184] (PS3) 64.04%[185] (PC) 60.14%[186]	(PC) 69/100[187] (X360) 68/100[188] (3DS) 65/100[189] (Wii) 64/100[190] (PS3) 64/100[191]
Need for Speed: Most Wanted (2012)	(WIIU) 86.46%[192] (PS3) 85.09%[193] (Vita) 83.44%[194] (X360) 83.05%[195] (PC) 81.50%[196]	(WiiU) 86/100[197] (PS3) 84/100[198] (X360) 84/100[199] (Vita) 79/100[200] (PC) 78/100[201]
Need for Speed Rivals	(PS3) 85.00%[202] (PS4) 81.62%[203] (XOne) 79.33%[204] (PC) 78.67%[205] (X360) 77.50%[206]	(PS3) 82/100[207] (PS4) 80/100[208] (XOne) 75/100[209] (PC) 78/100[210] (X360) 76/100[211]

Film adaptation

One of two surviving Mustangs used in Need for Speed

EA worked with DreamWorks Studios to create a film version of Need for Speed. 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.^[212][213] In April 2015, a sequel was announced with China Movie Channel, Jiaflix and 1905.com are teaming up with EA Games to develop the film.^[214][215]

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External links

• Official website
• Tribute Trailer
• EA Sports
• Need for Speed series at DMOZ