SUMMARY
- Need for Speed is one of the most iconic and the oldest game series' of all time.
- NFS began in 1994 and is still being continue with the latest game, as of December 2023, being NFS Unbound.
Electronic Arts’ Need for Speed (NFS) series has set the bar for arcade racing games ever since the first title. Today, the series has over 20 installments, which have introduced some jaw-dropping supercars to picturesque locations. The series has never failed to thrill its players.
Over the years, the series has easily established itself as one of the most influential racing gaming franchises in history. It has also paved the way as well as set the standard for numerous other titles, especially with regards to the arcade racing genre.
The first Need for Speed game
The first ever Need for Speed was a street racing game launched in 1994. The earliest game of the series was developed by EA Canada, which was originally known as Distinctive Software. It was published by Electronic Arts for 3DO, allowing players to drive eight licensed sports cars in three point-to-point tracks, featuring Checkpoints, traffic vehicles, and police pursuits. Additionally, players could drive these either with or without a computer opponent.
Later ports for the game were released for MS-DOS in 1995, followed by PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1996. This introduced additional tracks and cars. Notably, the Need for Speed game was renamed Overdrivin’ DX in Japan. Similarly, a version exclusively for Microsoft Windows was sold as The Need for Speed SE (Special Edition).
EA even collaborated with the automotive magazine Road & Track to correspond to the vehicle behavior in the game such as mimicking the sounds made by the vehicles’ gear control levers.
The first-ever Need for Speed game developed in 1994 was a commercial success. It was highly praised by video game publications for incorporating realism into the gameplay and graphics, along with the inclusion of full-motion videos.
History of Need for Speed
After Distinctive Software was acquired by EA in 1991 and renamed EA Canada, they continued the development and expansion of the Need for Speed franchise up to 2002. They developed a total of four NFS titles namely, Need for Speed (1994), Need for Speed 2 (1997), Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit (1998), and Need for Speed: High Stakes (1999).
The first installment was a great success, and thus a sequel was quite certain. Likewise, the devs released Need for Speed 2 in 1997, however, it didn’t live up to the hype, especially after the grand first game. EA Canda did not give up and fixed the loopholes in NFS 3: Hot Pursuit, which was released in 1998.
Notably this third installment was the first one to introduce a police angle to the gameplay. The game had a multi-lap dual between two cars on large circuits, as the cops tried to get the player off the road using spike strips, dealing tickets, and arresting them. It also had the option to play as a cop and run others off the road. By this time the series had set itself and fans knew what to expect from the series in terms of graphics, collection of cars, and gameplay.
The series got rid of the numbering sequels with Need for Speed: High Stakes in 1999. This one introduced the usual NFS elements with a few added features such as vehicle damage affecting performance and the ability to
customize their cars. This one also allowed players to fly the police helicopter.
Then came Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed in 2000, which introduced a vast number of new vehicles. Additionally, it was also the first NFS game to be released on Game Boy Advance marking the first time Need for Speed was playable on a handheld device.
Post that EA acquired another Vancouver-based developer, named Black Box Games. This new undertaking was contracted to take on the series with Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2. This game marked the series debut on the sixth-gen consoles namely PS2 and Xbox Gamecube. It had considerable improvements which some believe made it the best one so far.
Need for Speed goes Underground
At this point, the devs felt that the series needed to go somewhere new. They decided it was time to lay low, i.e., it was time to go underground. 2003 and 2004 witnessed the release of Need for Speed: Underground and
Underground 2, respectively. These titles shifted the focus of the series from exotic cars and stunning circuits, placing the players deep into the city focusing on illegal street races, gangs and more vehicle customization
than ever before.
These two games also had a far more established plot, wherein the player plays an upcoming racer on the
streets of Olympic City. Interestingly, it was also the first time in the franchise that the sequel, Underground 2, took off from where the events of Underground left off. It is safe to say that the Underground titles were when
Need for Speed truly found its feet.
The shift in focus and the beautifully blended returning elements set the new norm for the series. It took both this formula and previously successful elements to create one of the best-received sub-genres in the franchise.
2005 and 2006 saw two more continuity sequels in the form of Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Need for Speed: Carbon. These games saw players partake in legal street racing bringing back the the police chases from the previous titles.
Need for Speed struggles
The series released a full-fledged HD game in 2007, beginning a new era. With the release of Need for Speed: ProStreet, the series drifted away from illegal races to fully legal closed-off street races.
Naturally, it didn’t work well with the fans who missed the thrill of illegal street racing and the adventure of cops
chasing you at every corner. The title failed to meet sales targets and EA was once again in a spot. They decided to go back to where it all came from.
In 2008, Need for Speed: Undercover was released which took players back to the underground setting. Players could again partake in street races, customize their cars, and get into battles with rival gangs, however, this time as an undercover cop. This one was given more development time to avoid what happened with ProStreet. Nonetheless, it was criticized for its lack of difficulty, graphics repetitiveness, and lack of anything remotely
undercover cop related.
At this point the devs found themselves stuck as it was falling behind. Trying something new wasn’t working and so was bringing back the past formula. Although arcade racing was the core of the series, it was soon about to change.
The comeback
Eventually, in 2009, Electronic Arts brought in Slightly Mad Studios which was responsible for releasing Need for Speed: Shift in 2009, followed by a sequel, Shift 2: Unleashed, in 2011. They moved the subgenre of the series to a simulation feel. Although fans were used to the arcade style, the new style was welcomed and it seemed as it that was exactly what the game needed.
Later, Hot Pursuit in 2010 was developed by UK-based company Criterion Games. It was like the reimagining of the 1998 original. Hot Pursuit was unique in the sense that the driving wasn’t as arcadey-focused neither was it simulation-like. It struck more of the balance that the series was known for. It was highly praised with critics calling it the best Need for Speed game in quite some time
Until 2012, Need for Speed games were developed and co-developed by multiple random studios. However, at E3 2012, the Vice President of Criterion Games, Alex Ward announced that NFS titles would no longer be developed by “random developers.”
He did not confirm that all future Need for Speed titles would be developed solely by Criterion. However, he mentioned that they’d have a “strong involvement” in them. Additionally, they would also have control over which NFS titles would be released in the future.
The fate of Criterion Games
Unfortunately, just a year later, Criterion Games went through downsizing. Later Swedish developer Ghost Games became the main studio for the game franchise. It was then responsible for overseeing the future development. Notably, at the time, 80% of the workforce of Ghost Games was made up of former Criterion Games employees.
2012’s Need for Speed: Most Wanted almost reimagined the original 2005 title with a criterion twist. It was warmly received with some fans feeling that Criterion’s first outing Hot Pursuit was better. Nonetheless, EA had a surefire success with the Criterion in position.
Ghost Games developed Need for Speed Rivals (2013), which made it the first of the franchise to be released on the new 8th generation consoles, namely, PS4 and Xbox One. Need for Speed reboot (2015) slipped the series back down since it was the time when internet connectivity in games was required. It was the first game in the series, to always require an active internet connection to be able to play.
Need for Speed Payback (2017) got rid of the always-online requirement and introduced micro-transactions. Criterion eventually regained the rights to oversee the franchise in February 2020. The latest game of the franchise is Need for Speed Unbound which released in 2022. However, over the years, the publishing rights of the game remained with Electronic Arts.