Need for Speed (Series)

Need for Speed: Fast-paced Street Racing

A long-running racing video game franchise focusing on illegal street racing, evading police, and customizing exotic sports cars with performance upgrades and visual modifications.

What is Need for Speed (Series)?

The Need for Speed series is a franchise of racing video games published by Electronic Arts and currently developed by Criterion Games. The series was originally developed by Distinctive Software in 1994, which became known as EA Canada. The games are focused on fast-paced, arcade-style racing, rather than realistic physics simulation.

The Need for Speed games allow players to drive exotic sports cars, ranging from Japanese imports to European supercars. A major part of the games is customizing and upgrading these cars, both visually with new paint jobs and performance-wise with better engines and gearboxes. An emphasis is placed on illegal street racing, with many games featuring police chases.

Since the first game released in 1994, over 20 sequels and spin-offs have been published. Need for Speed became one of EA's most successful franchises. There have been many arcade racing games in the series tailored for different consoles and gaming tastes over the years. Most of the mainline Need For Speed games continue focusing on illegal street racing, while spin-offs like Shift and ProStreet take on legal, closed-circuit racing.

Need for Speed (Series) Features

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