Free Need for Speed Shift downloadable content is coming to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in early December, publisher EA has revealed.

Hitting Xbox 360 on December 3 and then PlayStation 3 on December 3 (Europe) / December 10 (North America), the free "Team Racing pack" will bring five new "legendary" cars and a new team-based multiplayer mode to Slightly Mad Studios' racer.

Details on the new cars, along with a trailer examining the new mode... Read more

Electronic Arts' racing franchise Need for Speed has now sold over 100 million units worldwide since the series' debut in 1994, with over $2.7 billion in sales accumulated in those 15 years.

"The main thrust of the sales has actually come in the last six years, where we've averaged over 12 million units per year," said Need for Speed VP of marketing Keith Munro to Gamasutra.

Munro posits that the series' recent trend of featuring more accessible cars is a key reason for its recent success. "Our consumers might actually own these cars, or parents might have one in the garage," he said.

"The older Need For Speed games were more of the exotic supercars on the Italian countryside," he said, pointing to 2003's Need for Speed: Underground as a turning point for the series.

Today's release of the PSP Go sparks a monster update to the PlayStation Store as scores of publishers release gobs of games for Sony's download-only handheld.

The PlayStation 3 does not go neglected, mind, receiving demos for Brutal Legend and Need for Speed Shift, as well as 'The Pitt' and 'Operation Anchorage' DLC for Fallout 3.

The full listing for the releases, downloadable content, demos and sales follows below.

Updates

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords PSP Temporary Price Drop (now $7.99)

Cube Temporary Sale (now $4.99)... Read more

Though the PC demo is already out, a PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 demo for EA's Need for Speed: Shift will also be made available on Thursday.

The demo will include the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and London River tracks, as well as five cars: the BMW M3 (E46), 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10, 2006 Lotus Elise 111R, 2008 Nissan GT-R and an unlockable 2006 Pagani Zonda F.

EA today patched the PC version of Need for Speed SHIFT, adding a few minor features to the recently released racer. The update brings support for "LAN (Local Area Network) play," which supposedly "enhances the multiplayer experience." Also added was something called "Mouse Support," a revolutionary new feature that provides "full menu navigation through the game using your PC mouse."

If you own the game, you might want to consider grabbing this 13mb patch on FileShack.

With Slightly Mad's Need for Speed Shift having raced into shops this week, a 1.13GB downloadable demo of the PC edition can now be found over on FileShack.

The demo offers up two tracks (London River, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps) and five cars from the game, which is now available on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. A separate PSP edition, handled by EA Bright Light, was released this week as well.

Famed raceway Laguna Seca is analysed in this Need for Speed Shift trailer, a handy tool for those already preparing for the release of Slightly Mad's racer on September 15.

NFS Shift is headed to PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PSP, published by EA.

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"How you drive on the track defines who you are," according to a gruff English voice introducing the racer's persistent driver profiles in a tone we can hardly disagree with.

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Tracking your performance and driving style, driver profiles will trigger rivalries, open challenges, earn badges, and unlock vehicles and customisation options.

Need for Speed: Shift arrives September 22 on PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PSP.

With the North American release of Need for Speed Shift set for September 22, publisher EA has released the first gameplay footage of Slightly Mad's realistic racer.

Shift is due to arrive on PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PSP.

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Slightly Mad's realistic, simulation-oriented take on the Need for Speed franchise will arrive in European stores on September 17 and those in North America on September 22, publisher and franchise owner Electronic Arts announced early this morning.

Due out on PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PSP, Need for Speed Shift is said to feature the "largest roster of high-performance cars" in the series, including the Pagani Zonda F, Porsche 911 GT2 and Lotus Elise. EA Bright Light is on the PSP edition.

"By focusing on the driver's experience through the first-person view, we are able to capture the high-speed intensity and gripping emotions of racing," said EA Games Europe senior vice president Patrick Soderlund.

"We really don't like this to be associated with simulation we're learning," said an EA representative.

"It is less of an arcade, I-can-drink-my-beer-when-I-drive game," he added later.

While the two statements might seem at odds, the contradiction gets to the point of Need for Speed: Shift. Neither a perfectly-accurate simulation or an arcade racer, Shift sits somewhere between the two, part of EA's three-pronged plan to pull the saturated racing market toward its Need for Speed brand. There's the online Need for Speed, the traditional one with crazy cops (Nitro), and the one for more serious race fans. "Shift" is the latter.

And at a glance, Shift is merely that--just another entry in the race for the car game market. EA knows its target for Shift is primarily an international one--this is one of those racers that has tracks with German names and lots of tight turns... Read more

Electronic Arts has just released a number of new screenshots from Need for Speed Shift, a more realistic take on the racing franchise coming from Slightly Mad Studios.

Need for Speed Shift arrives on PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PSP this fall. Check back with Shacknews later today for more details , including a hands-on preview.

Slightly Mad Studios' claim that it "includes developers and designers that worked on the critically acclaimed games GT Legends and GTR 2" hasn't sat too well with Race Pro and GTR series developer SimBin, which is now considering legal action.

"[SimBin] is taking legal advice and considering to also take legal actions against Slightly Mad Studios, as a result of certain statements made by Slightly Mad Studios that we find to be incorrect, misleading and has a negative impact on our reputation as well as business negotiations," SimBin VP Magnus Ling told Joystiq.

Slightly Mad's statement was contained in the announcement for Need for Speed Shift, a realistic take on the traditionally arcadey series it's developing with Electronic Arts. The PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PSP racing simulation is expected to hit this fall.

Over on its official site, Slightly Mad states that its staff "formed the core development team" responsible for SimBin's GTR, GTR 2, and GT Legends, and provides a list of those employees and the roles they played in developing those games... Read more

Need for Speed Shift

Update: In addition to the three Need for Speed games below, Electronic Arts tells Eurogamer that "Black Box is currently working on a future action title in the franchise."

No additional details on the so-called "secret NFS game" are known at this time.

Original Story: GameSpot is reporting that despite recent mass layoffs at Need for Speed series developer EA Black Box, Electronic Arts is not giving up on the Need for Speed franchise.

On the contrary, as the publisher has three new entries in the series in the works.

The PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PSP are set to receive Need for Speed Shift, described as a "hardcore racing simulation". Development is being handled by UK start-up Slightly Mad Studios, with production overseen by Black Box... Read more