Need for Speed joins EA Sports label

The Need for Speed franchise is switching labels, away from EA's general gaming label to EA Sports. It's in the game now! In many ways, the...

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The Need for Speed franchise is switching labels, away from EA's general gaming label to EA Sports. It's in the game now!

In many ways, the transition makes a lot of sense. The franchise has been annualized for many years already, and racing is already a sport. However, the main reason for the switch is to get new eyes on the franchise.

EA VP Patrick Soderlund explained that the move "could benefit [the series] from fresh eyes, could benefit from some different thinking." One of the reasons why EA Sports is such a good fit for Need for Speed is the focus on how games feel. "When you play a sports game, the controller in your hand will dictate how good the game is. It's all about player control and input and how it feels. It's a feeling, right? I think that focus on pure gameplay, is something that can benefit the Need for Speed brand in a very positive way," he told Polygon.

While the franchise may be joining the Sports label, it doesn't mean that the series will necessarily become more sim-like, with Soderland saying that would be "highly unlikely." And just because the series will be branded EA Sports, that doesn't mean Tiburon will be developing the series all of a sudden. The franchise is still being helmed by Ghost Games, comprised of former members of Criterion.

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    November 5, 2013 5:30 PM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, Need for Speed joins EA Sports label.

    The Need for Speed franchise is switching labels, away from EA's general gaming label to EA Sports. It's in the game now!

    In many ways, the...

    • reply
      November 5, 2013 5:39 PM

      I'm ok with this so long as they release a new Porsche Unleashed every year.

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      November 5, 2013 8:53 PM

      Now with 90% less testing!

    • reply
      November 5, 2013 9:00 PM

      If this means a transition back to race courses and standard disciplines, then sign me up. But I'm pretty sure it doesn't.

      Call me crazy, but EA needs to make more games like Need for Speed: The Run since they've got such a hard-on for shoehorning narratives into their run-from-the-cops driving games. However, instead of going full retard with quick-time-event-laden cut-scenes, give the players full control of the on-foot portions of the game as well. Yeah, yeah I know it breaks the genre and all that other fun shit, but for fuck's sake it can't be much worse than the annual open-world debacles they serve up year-to-year.

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      November 6, 2013 12:16 AM

      Nnnnooooooooooooooooo!

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      November 6, 2013 5:41 AM

      Interesting way to kill a franchise...

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        November 6, 2013 7:20 AM

        Yeah, they really did a good job burning through Black Box. Putting QTEs in a racing game in Need For Speed: The Run, and then having them make the driving section in Medal of Honor: Warfighter

    • reply
      November 6, 2013 5:46 AM

      Never knew that smashing walls and laying traps for cops was considered a "sport".

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