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Need for Speed, also known by its initials NFS, is a racing video game franchise published by Electronic Arts and currently developedby Ghost Games. The series centers around illicit street racing and in general tasks players to complete various types of races while evading the local law enforcement in police pursuits. The series released its first title, The Need for Speed in 1994. Since Need for Speed: High Stakes, the series has also integrated car body customization into gameplay.
Need for Speed has been critically well received. It is one of the most successful video game franchises of all time, selling over 150 million copies of games. Due to its strong sales, the franchise has expanded into other forms of media including a film adaptationand licensed Hot Wheels toys.
The series has been overseen and had games developed by multiple notable teams over the years including EA Black Box and Criterion Games, the developers of the Burnout franchise. In August 2013, following the downsizing of Criterion Games, it was announced that Swedish developer Ghost Games would gain control of the Need for Speed racing franchise and oversee future development of the main series. At the time, 80% of Ghost Games' work force consisted of former Criterion Games employees.
Most of the games in the franchise include police pursuits in some form or other. In some of the games featuring police pursuit (i.e. Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, and Need for Speed: Rivals), the player can play as either the felon or the cop. The concepts of drifting and dragging were introduced in Need for Speed: Underground. These new mechanics are included in the tournament/career mode aside from the regular street races. Drift races, in games like Need for Speed: Underground and Need for Speed (2015), the player must defeat other racers by totaling the most points, earned by the length and timing of the drift made by the player's vehicle. In drag races, the player must finish first to win the race, though if the player crashes into an obstacle or wall, the race ends. In the recent game Need for Speed: Payback, the player has to earn a certain amount of points to win; increase their multiplier based on how many points they get, whist passing through a limited amount of checkpoints.