If you thought the high octane Need For Speed franchise was heading for the retirement home you’d be wrong - EA has four new NFS projects on the go.
We have first-person simulator ”Shift”, multiplayer action-driving ”World Online” and arcade-style ”Nitro” coming our way. EA Black Box is also working on the next title instalment.
”It’s all about crafting different games for different audiences,” said EA marketing vice president Keith Munro.
”The ‘Need for Speed’ brand is quite powerful. It has great recognition, even outside of gaming. When we talked to consumers about what the brand meant to them, we realized that it could be stretched to new limits on different platforms.”
NFS: Shift is being developed by Slightly Mad Studios, the guys behind GTR. It’s a first-person racing simulator with released shots already looking pretty darn great.
NFS: World Online is being developed by EA Singapore and is going to be a free-to-play online in the Far East with a possible release later in Western territories.
NFS: Nitro is the Nintendo DS and Wii offering being headed up by EA Montreal, it’s a more casual and arcade focused approach.
”In the past, our ‘Need for Speed’ games have done very well on all platforms,” Munro said.
”We just think we can do better with this new plan. We actually have the opportunity to devote an entirely new studio and development team to the creation of a from-the-ground-up Nintendo-only ‘Need for Speed’ game. We didn’t have those resources available before.”
For those looking for the ‘proper’ sequel to the franchise though it’s best you keep your eyes on EA Black Box. Popularity has waned over the years with the franchise, luckily though EA has another horse to back in the event of a burst tyre; Burnout.
Shift is coming to Xbox 360 and PS3, Nitro is DS and Wii with World Online pegged as PC.
Source: CVG
