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Need for Speed franchise not dead yet

by on02 February 2009

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EA announces three new additions in development

With all of the layoffs that Electronic Arts made at Black Box Studios, which has been the traditional developer for the Need for Speed franchise, as well as the under performing sales that the series has been racking up as of late, many thought that the end of the franchise could be near.

Imagine our surprise when we found out that not only is EA planning to continue with the Need for Speed series, but they have three new Need for Speed titles already in development. While the first new titles will not be developed by Black Box, executive producer Michael Mann from Black Box will oversee the development in conjunction with EA Games Europe and Digital Illusions CE (DICE) head honcho, Patrick Söderlund.

This new title will be called Need for Speed: Shift and will be for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC platforms. The development studio responsible will be London-based Slightly Mad Studios, which is headed by former SimBin co-founder Ian Bell, whose experience with driving games includes GT Legends and GTR 2. While no release dates were confirmed, we continue to hear suggestions that EA would like to have this one ready in time for the holidays.

The second title is the one that we really know the least about, Need for Speed: World Online, which will be a free-to-play title that will be developed by both Black Box and EA Shanghi. At first this title will be targeted at the large Asian market when it releases in the Summer. A North American version will follow later in the winter. The title will be exclusive for the PC platform for the time being.

The third confirmed new Need for Speed title in development is called Need for Speed: Nitro, and this title will be targeted at the Nintendo Wii and DS platforms. The development will be handled by EA’s studio in Montreal, Canada. While little is really known about the title, sources suggest that it will have a unique visual flair to make it more appealing to the Nintendo market space. No timeline for possible release was announced, but we hear whispers that it is slated to be a holiday season title.

Where things get strange with this story are the rumors that a fourth Need for Speed title continues to be in development by the remaining staff on the Need for Speed team at Black Box. According to our sources the title is an action-oriented title that is unique to the franchise. No additional details beyond this little snippet have come our way so far, and it is not clear if the title is in the planning stages or has already been “green lighted”, but it would seem logical that Black Box would try something new with the series.

While the news might seem like “Need for Speed overload” it does seem that the news of three titles in the works, plus a fourth that we don’t know the name of, might in fact be a good way to try to deliver more of a more customized driving experience in games with different types of titles. Instead of trying to create a driving title that is all things to all people, the strategy of breaking it apart might be the best way going forward. Certainly, we think the idea of making a unique Wii version that takes advantage of the Wii’s strengths is a good thing. Bringing in a new studio to handle the next round of the franchise on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC versions with a veteran that they have selected to head up this effort should yield a different type of game that could be far more successful.

We wish EA the best of luck with this strategy and we hope that they are successful, but it is going to take a lot to lift the series from where it has been lately and get people interested in it again. This could, however, be a good first step.

Last modified on 02 February 2009
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