LOS ANGELES: Electronic Arts is steering the popular "Need for Speed" franchise in a new direction. The video game publisher announced plans to spin off the 15-year-old racing series into three driving games on different platforms. The new games will speed into three separate genres — simulation, action and arcade racing.
"It's all about crafting different games for different audiences," said Keith Munro, EA marketing vice president. "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."
The new games, expected to be released later this year, are "Need for Speed Shift," a first-person racing simulation for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360; "Need for Speed World Online," a multiplayer action-driving game for the PC; and "Need for Speed Nitro," an arcade-style racing game developed by EA Montreal for the Nintendo Wii and DS.
"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."
Munro said EA Black Box, the Canadian developer that created every previous "Need for Speed" game, has been collaborating with developer Slightly Mad Studios on "Need for Speed Shift" and EA Singapore on "Need for Speed World Online." He also said Black Box is continuing to work on a new action driving game, despite recent companywide layoffs.
"It's all about crafting different games for different audiences," said Keith Munro, EA marketing vice president. "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."
The new games, expected to be released later this year, are "Need for Speed Shift," a first-person racing simulation for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360; "Need for Speed World Online," a multiplayer action-driving game for the PC; and "Need for Speed Nitro," an arcade-style racing game developed by EA Montreal for the Nintendo Wii and DS.
"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."
Munro said EA Black Box, the Canadian developer that created every previous "Need for Speed" game, has been collaborating with developer Slightly Mad Studios on "Need for Speed Shift" and EA Singapore on "Need for Speed World Online." He also said Black Box is continuing to work on a new action driving game, despite recent companywide layoffs.
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