The Need for Speedvideo gameseries is published by Electronic Arts. Games in the series were primarily developed by Canadian developer EA Canada from 1992 to 2001.[1] They were later primarily developed by Canadian developer EA Black Box for a period of the series' history from 2002 to 2011. After a stint with several game developers (including British developer Criterion Games) from 2009 through 2012, the series is currently being handled by Swedish-British developer Ghost Games, whose debut title Need for Speed Rivals was released in 2013.
The series debuted with The Need for Speed in North America, Japan (under the Over Drivin' title through High Stakes), and Europe in 1994. Need for Speed is a series of racing video games where the main objective is to win races in a variety of game modes, in the process eluding traffic and police. Aftermarket customization of video game vehicles was an aspect first introduced by the Need for Speed series after the release of the film, The Fast and the Furious; the feature was included in every Need for Speed title developed by EA Black Box from Need for Speed: Underground through Need for Speed: Undercover.[2]
The NFS series is among the best-selling video game franchises with 100 million copies sold.[3] Electronic Arts considers one of the reasons the series has remained so popular is because "the series has long been an ever-evolving franchise, one that changes up its focus, mechanics and style every couple of years".[4]
Developed by Ghost Games and Criterion Games, the latter providing additional work.
The eighth generation versions were released simultaneously with the seventh generation versions; last game in the series to be released for seventh generation consoles and the first game to be released for eighth generation of consoles.
First mainline Need for Speed game developed by Criterion Games after 2012's Most Wanted reboot; their last work for a game in the franchise was 2013's Rivals.
First game released for the ninth generation of consoles.
Localised Japanese retail release of Road & Track presents: The Need for Speed for the Sega Saturn featuring only Nissan vehicles, including various generations of models such as Skyline GT-R and Fairlady Z.
Localised Japanese retail release of Road & Track presents: The Need for Speed for the PlayStation featuring various generations of the Nissan Skyline.
First entry in the standalone V-Rally series, the game was originally produced by European based company Eden Studios. However, Electronic Arts bought the publishing rights to the game and distributed it in North America under the Need for Speed banner.[93]
V-Rally 2: Championship Edition is the second entry in the standalone V-Rally series, produced by Eden Studios. As with the first game, Electronic Arts bought the publishing rights and distributed it in North America under the Need for Speed banner. Later, Infogrames would publish the game in North America for the Dreamcast under the Test Drive banner. It was the last entry in the V-Rally series to be marketed in North America under a third-party racing franchise's name.[98][99]
The game runs on a modified engine used for High Stakes on PC and was originally produced as Need for Speed: Motor City, but was disassociated from the Need for Speed name after being stripped from its single player campaign and turned into a MMO, online-only experience.[102]
