Need For Speed reaches 100 million units sold mark

Electronic Arts’ Need for Speed franchise has surpassed 100 million units sold life to date, according to its own internal sales figures. The newest release, Need for Speed SHIFT, managed to push the franchise over that mark, making it the best-selling racing brand in the world, says EA. EA says that, life-to-date, the Need for Speed series has generated over $2.7 billion in sales as well.

Since its launch in 1994 on the PlayStation, there have been 15 Need for Speed titles released across more than 14 platforms in over 60 countries around the world. The game franchise has been released in 22 languages and players have generated over 17 trillion user-generated vehicle customizations and raced 79 billion miles of virtual roads and race tracks.

This year there are three titles being launched under the Need for Speed franchise: Need for Speed SHIFT (available now), Need for Speed NITRO, and Need for Speed World Online .

Need for Speed NITRO gold

Electronic Arts announced that Need for Speed NITRO has gone gold and will be in stores early, arriving to retailers on November 3rd in North America and on November 6th in Europe. Developed specifically for the Wii and Nintendo DS, Need for Speed NITRO brings arcade racing to Nintendo’s platforms. Besides a NFS branded arcade racing experience for Nintendo platform owners, the game features a soundtrack with such artists as k-os, Placebo and Crystal Method.

EA says that NFS NITRO give high-speed racing to all types of gamers with unique gameplay, accessible controls, and competitive multiplayer events. We’ll soon see whether or not this Nintendo exclusive NFS is the real deal or just a throw-away product to cash in on the Wii and DS’ success.

Need for Speed SHIFT driver profile details

Electronic Arts revealed first details on the new driver profile system in Need for Speed SHIFT. Extending through the single player career and online multiplayer modes, driver profile gives each player a unique game experience based on the way each player drives on the track.

Driver profile is a tailor-made career mode based on four key game play components: personality (driving style dictates whether you are and aggressive or precise driver), success (whether you finish races and land at the top of the pile at the finish line), profile points (earned for just about every maneuver you perform on the track) and badges (icons that represent various in-game achievements). As a player’s driver profile develops through the course of the game, it creates rivalries, triggers specific challenges and unlocks vehicles and customization options.

During this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, EA invited attendees to participate in a Need for Speed SHIFT Hero Car Competition that showcased the driver profile. Competitors raced around the Autopolis track in the BMW M3 GT2 hero car generating the highest number of driver profile points. The winner of the Need for Speed SHIFT Hero Car Competition, Mitchell Francis, from Los Angeles won a brand new 2009 BMW M3 Coupe.

EA is making a big deal about driver profiles, but is it a gimmick or will it truly impact the overall gameplay? We’ll have to wait and see.

Need for Speed SHIFT is being developed by Slightly Mad Studios in collaboration with Black Box and Patrick Soderlund. Slightly Mad Studios includes developers and designers that worked on GT Legends and GTR 2. The PSP version is being developed by EA’s Bright Light studio.

The game is scheduled to ship in Europe on September 17 and in North America on September 22 on the PS3, Xbox 360, PC and PSP.

Battlefield 3, Criterion-developed NFS revealed

During his presentation at the William Blair Growth Stock Conference, Electronic Arts COO John Pleasants revealed that new games in the Need For Speed and Battlefield series are in the works. Pleasants said that Criterion Games is working on a Need For speed game. Criterion is better known for the Burnout series of games and has spent a good portion of its time over the last couple of years working on a continuous stream of downloadable content for Burnout Paradise. No further details on the new Need For Speed title were revealed.

“We’ve taken the Burnout team and combined it with our Need For Speed franchise,” he said. “So we now have that in our favor because that Burnout team is probably one of the more online-centric and notably high-quality game developers that we have out at Criterion.”

Pleasants also revealed that Sweden-based developer DICE is working hard on the third installment of the Battlefield series. Battlefield 3 has been in development alongside other Battlefield games like Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Battlefield Heroes and Battlefield 1943.

“I’ve had the luxury of looking at Battlefield 3 over at DICE in Sweden and was highly impressed by the way the team is working on that product,” he said. “Of course, that’s not [coming out] in the fiscal year, but that is a product that is looking very good.”

Source: G4TV.com and G4TV.com.

EA Races Forward With New Need for Speed Games

Earlier this month, word broke out that EA had cut staff from Black Box in the wake of some major financial restructuring. There were even rumors that the publisher was retiring its Need for Speed franchise after poor sales on Need for Speed Undercover. Well, early this morning, EA put that rumor to rest, announcing the development of not one, but at least three new NFS titles.

“We recognize racing videogame fans are very passionate and unique – they want customized gameplay experiences. Whether it’s more of a realistic driving game with accurate car physics or over-the-top cop chases, we are making different games for different audiences,” said Keith Munro, vice president of marketing, Need for Speed. “Each game provides a deep, engaging and rich racing experience. We’re giving players the option to choose the best racing title that suits their style of gameplay.”

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EA Announces More Layoffs

Yesterday, when we reported on Free Radical’s closure, we wrapped up wondering just who was next on the chopping block. This morning, we got our answer, as Electronic Arts announced further details on a restructuring plan, which will include consolidating facilities and a new round of holiday layoffs.

According to the announcement, EA expects the restructuring plan to save it somewhere around $120 million annually and $60 million or so over the next several financial quarters. Under the new restructuring plan, EA will cut about 1,000 jobs, roughly 10 percent of its total worldwide workforce. The majority of these cuts are expected to be completed by March 31, 2009. The restructuring also calls for consolidation or closure of at least nine of the company’s studio and publishing locations, including the Vancouver-based Black Box Studio, which has been responsible for the company’s Need for Speed and Skate franchises. The Black Box teams and associated game franchises will move to the nearby EA studio location in Burnaby, British Columbia.

This new round of layoffs and consolidation comes at a rough time for EA. The company had already announced a round of upcoming layoffs back in October, now having to raise the number of jobs cut from the original 6 percent to the current 10 percent. While the current state of the world economy may be a major factor in EA’s current financial woes, many analysts have laid part of the blame on the company’s dogged pursuit of a Take-Two takeover earlier in the year. Black Box’s fate probably wasn’t helped by the lackluster reviews of Need for Speed Undercover either.

Need for Speed Undercover Plays Cops and Robbers

Black Box, the EA studio currently hard at work on Need for Speed Undercover, today dished out some details on the upcoming game’s online modes, including the all-new multiplayer mode, dubbed Cops and Robbers. This team-based mode pits two teams of four players against each other playing both sides of the law in a high speed pursuit.

In Cops and Robbers, one team of “robbers” must pick up a package and take it to a designated drop-off point while the cops attempt to prevent the delivery. Each game consists of two rounds, giving the players the chance to play as both the cops and the robbers. Besides playing Cops and Robbers, up to eight players will also be able to compete against each other in the more standard Sprint and Circuit multiplayer race modes.

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