Need for Speed, the game which really made the gaming experience to a new level. I am 32 now and I still remember the age from when I started playing back in 1994 when it was launched for the first time. I was just 4-5 years old and since then I had been a great fan of its developers.
In 2014, a film named “Need for Speed” was released worldwide which was based on this video game series.
For those, who still don’t know this game let me tell you in brief. Need for Speed is a racing game that is going to be developed by Criterion Games. However, this game has been developed by many developers but EA Black Box and Ghost Games were the most popular ones as they brought this game to a new user interface and better graphics.
The recent series of this game was Need for Speed Heat which was released in November 2019. The game was first published 25 years ago but still, after so much time it is still one of the best racing games.
What’s New with NFS?
According to the latest news by gamesindustry.biz, all the coming games in the series of Need for Speed (NFS) will now be developed by Criterion games. It’s big news as this game has been developed by Ghost Games for a long time. When asked to EA, they said that the new is true and now the Ghost Games will be working as a support studio for various projects under EA games.
With this information it is difficult to say that whether in the coming Need for Speed series we would be seeing the same user experience or will it change? With a change in the developer, the experience of a game also changes. I know, I am being a little skeptical but at the same time I am waiting for the next series of Need for Speed.
Criterion Games
Criterion games is not a new developer of games, if you are an NFS lover you must have played the popular 2010: Need for Speed-Hot Pursuit and 2012: Need for Speed-Most wanted. These two games were developed by the Criterion Games.
There are other series too which was developed by Criterion games like the Burnout Series. The Most wanted series that came out in 2012 had a lot of connection to the Burnout series. I have played burnout and the Burnout 3: Takedown was the best series of racing games and one of my favorites too. Therefore, I am eagerly waiting for the new series of Need for Speed by the criterion as I would love to see the same graphics and performance that I saw in Burnout 3.
EA and Criterion
In 2013, the development shifted from criterion to Ghost Games and Criterion was supposed to be working on another racing games project. Most of the developers of Criterion games were shifted to Ghost Games UK. The unnamed game was supposed to be revealed to the public on 2014 but the co-founders of the company Alex Ward and Fiona Sperry left the company at the beginning of 2014 and therefore, the project went to a box.
Since then Criterion spent all its time in supporting the developments of Star Wars Battlefront, Star Wars Battlefront 2 and most recently Battlefront 5.
The Ghost Games are well known for the 3 series of Need for Speed they developed. The Need for Speed Heat’s was one of the best games that attracted players on the launch as per Official Twitter’s account of game. However, Blake Jorgensen, the Chief Financial Officer of EA games said that only 3-4 million copies were sold and was not much successful.
According to CitizenElder, a game player, “Hot Pursuit 2010 is still his favourite game in the series. He will see what Criterion comes up with next, but he does’t have high hopes: it’s not the same Criterion in 2020”.
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010)
The series Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit was developed by the British game developing company Criterion Games. The game was published by Electronic Arts also known as EA in 2010. The games were designed in such a way that you are chased by police and busted if caught and there was nothing for car customization. The game was well recognized and got several awards. In E3 2010, it also got the award for the best racing game which was the second award for the NFS series after the original Hot Pursuit Version.
There were just 60 cars available for both the police and the racers and the racing track was designed in a rural area known as Seacrest Country. The game also has weapons which were available to the police and some of the racers.
Overall, the game developed by Criterion was a hit and we are looking for the same in future.
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