Electronic Arts Feels The Need to Reboot 'Need For Speed'

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By Kevin Parrish
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The Need for Speed franchise has been around for what seems like forever, with the first installment launching in 1994. Since then, there have been more than 20 Need for Speed games released on a huge number of platforms including our beloved Windows PC. Now it seems that Electronic Arts has grown tired of the franchise's current state and is taking a hint from Hollywood: reboot.

Electronic Arts didn't spill any gritty details in its announcement on Thursday, but merely stated that the game will arrive on Windows PC (via Origin), and the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles in Fall 2015. The company released a teaser trailer, shown below, which will be followed by a full-blown trailer on June 15, 2015. That's the date of EA's pre-E3 2015 press conference.

"Fueled by EA's own car culture community, Speedhunters, Need for Speed will deliver an experience that's grounded in authentic car culture by diving into the rich world of past, present and emergent trends of the urban car scene," the press release said. "This collaboration with Speedhunters in the research and development of the game means the level of detail and real-world authenticity will envelop gamers in an exciting world to discover and enjoy in a way that only Need for Speed can deliver."

The new Need for Speed is under development at Ghost Games, the same studio that brought Need for Speed Rivals to the PlayStation consoles and Xbox 360 back in 2013. The studio promises that the rebooted franchise will have "deep customization, authentic urban car culture, a nocturnal open world, and an immersive narrative."

Marcus Nilsson, Executive Producer at Ghost Games, said that the studio is finally making a game it has wanted to create but is also listening to the demands of the fans. Fans are encouraged to provide feedback on the official Need for Speed Facebook page and Twitter account.

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Kevin Parrish
22 Comments Comment from the forums
  • dstarr3
    How is that a reboot? Looks like just another way-too-arcade racing game with an unnecessary plot written by a 12-year-old trying to be cool.
    Reply
  • SchizoFrog
    Just remake underground, exactly as it was but with larger maps, modern music and cars and just let it go at that... Or cross it with Most Wanted and bring cops in to the night time racer.
    Reply
  • Ranth
    Just remake underground, exactly as it was but with larger maps, modern music and cars and just let it go at that... Or cross it with Most Wanted and bring cops in to the night time racer.
    I personally prefer the soundtrack of NFS underground to any new dubsteppy thing, but other than I'd agree give me neon under my car!
    Reply
  • zhunt99
    If it is anything like NFS Hot Pursuit 2 was on the PS2, I could very much get behind it.

    I'd love a return to the "EA Sports: It's in the game!" days.
    Reply
  • clonazepam
    Never played Underground. I played through NFS: Most Wanted (2005) and loved it. It was unfortunate that I ended up cheesing the final chase by driving in a circle though (lol)
    Reply
  • MasterMace
    EA's behind it, I won't buy it.
    Reply
  • somebodyspecial
    You want a REAL reboot. Add weapons to the game ala ROAD RASH. I still can't believe they haven't re-made this game. Loads of fun. I'd like to see cars with weapons for need for speed and also a reboot of Road Rash so I can pick up a pipe and wail away on the competition again...LOL. Multi-player on that would be awesome. Driving games need weapons. The perfect game would allow you to go either way. Pure racing for those people, but weapons with the click of a button for mad max style racing...ROFL. Perfect timing since we'll likely see 3 mad max movies at least now. WEAPONIZE my driving please. In a car & on a bike.

    oops..road rash, not racer..LOL. Yeah, it's been that long. Reboot!
    Reply
  • wtfxxxgp
    That in-game footage looks freaking impressive. Can't wait to see just how much attention they've paid to the customisation aspect of the game because I feel that they started off well and steadily declined. Us car-guys would love a true car customisation game that you could even learn a thing or 2 from. In the real world, you take your chances with mechanics for insane and stupid builds that haven't been done before - sometimes it pays off and sometimes it does not. Mostly it does not. I'd like to see that sort of dynamic - where you have different tuners that end up working on the car and sometimes you strike oil and other times you get caught by cops because your new Big Turbo conversion blew.
    Reply
  • fuzzion
    Bring back the old NFS. Yes add some cars. Add a good story. And make the map HUGE and you can have my money. Actually just make GTA6
    Reply
  • Avus
    EA has been a waste of Porsche license for decades. (EA hold all Porsche license on all gaming platforms including PC) Porsche PR are either some of the laziest or stupidest people work in their industry. Porsche is one of the auto manufacturer with the richest motorsport history and EA are wasting these Porsche on game with "authentic urban car culture". **** EA that I am playing Project CARS, Assetto Corsa and DiRT Rally with no Porsche.
    Reply