EA to launch three new titles for Need For Speed

Electronic Arts has channelized their trademark Need for Speed game series with three new games, one of them being completely free, in to three different genres. These new games will cater to gamers in action, simulation, and arcade racing genres.

It seems that EA is still very confident in the NFS brand and is very much focused on delivering tailor-made experiences to the large number of gamers out there. The three games will be Need For Speed: Shift, reported to bring a much more realistic driving experience, similar to ProStreet, which will be made for the PC, Xbox 360, PS3 and PSP this fall, Need For Speed: Nitro, a casual-oriented title made exclusively for the Wii and DS, and last but not least, Need For Speed World Online, a free to play game based on racing licensed cars in an open environment, scheduled to be released in Asia this summer for the PC, with Western territories receiving it in winter.

Here are a some details about the three new titles.

Need for Speed: Shift will be created by Slightly Mad Studios, developers of the famous GT Legend and GTR2 titles, in cooperation with Michael Mann, a producer from EA Black Box, the studio that has handled the NFS series for quite some time, and Patrick Soderlund, one of the EA Games Europe executives.

Need For Speed: Nitro will be developed by the team at EA Montreal, it will be aimed at a more casual market, and it will appear on the Wii and DS. But don't think this will be like the Mario Kart series, as it promises to bring some new features that haven't appeared in other titles.

Need For Speed: World Online will follow in the footsteps of the company's future free to play shooter, Battlefield Heroes. This will also be the version that the EA Black Box studio will make, in collaboration with EA Singapore. The game promises to deliver a great online experience, with the most licensed cars and parts ever encountered in an NFS game. Thanks to EA Singapore, the game will be released in Asia first, and, if things develop smoothly, will hit Western shores in winter 2009.

These new games have been in development since two years and this year we'll get Need for Speed games with a different take. It is a very risky step for the company but if the games will be provide great interests in gamers then it will surely make a lot of money for the company.