Search the Community

Ken Block's Hoonicorn Mustang, AI tweaks, and more come to Need For Speed! The first update for the relaunched Need For Speed franchise is out now! The "Icons" update contains a number of fixes, tweaks, and new content and should be available now on Xbox One and Playstation 4. The first major tweak to the game is regarding the balance of the AI's Catch Up system. In response to community feedback, the game devs have made tweaks, likely to fix the issue of "rubber-banding" AI, capable of bending the laws of physics to win a race. We’ve been reading all of your feedback on this, watching your videos and tuning in to your live streams. With all this feedback in mind we have made changes to the AI behavior which should improve your overall experience. Source There are some new features and improvements to the wrap editor. A new colour picker, which features recent colours and materials, pre-set colours and materials, and a more precise colour selection, allowing you to get the ultimate one-off paint job. The wrap editor now also has the ability to mirror layers from one side of the car to the other, saving you time spent trying to repeat your design. The new update brings some fresh content to the game in the form of Ken Block's legendary "Hoonicorn" Ford Mustang, and Morohoshi's shocking-pink Lamborghini Diablo SV. And you're in luck, if you've already completed the respective missions, these new beasts are yours, waiting in your garage, for no additional cost. On top of the new content and tweaks, the Icons update brings new daily challenges, new trophies and achievements, and 30 new pre-set wraps. Ken Block's Hoonicorn will also be coming to Need For Speed: No Limits on iOS and Android. For more news and discussions on Need For Speed, join us on the forums.

Special Horse & Big Simple Cat Need for Speed Rivals welcomes some new Ferrari's and Jaguar's to it's repertoire today with the release of the Ferrari Edizioni Speciali and Simply Jaguar DLC Car Packs. Containing new cars for both cops and racers the packs can be bought separately for each faction or as a complete pack which naturally contains both cop and racer varieties. The Ferrari pack contains the legend that is the Ferrari F40 and it's younger sibling the F50, whereas the Jaguar pack comes with the concept Ja[aa]guar C-X75 Prototype and the stunningly curvaceous Jaguar XJ220. Need for Speed Rivals: Ferrari & Jaguar Car Packs Ferrari Edizioni Speciali Cops: Take down Racers and Rivals in Redview County using these two Extreme Machines – The Ferrari F40 and the Ferrari F50. Ferrari Edizioni Speciali Racers: Stay one step ahead of the Cops and your Rivals using these two Extreme Machines – The Ferrari F40 and the Ferrari F50. Ferrari Edizioni Speciali Complete Pack: Take down Racers, stay one step ahead of the cops and beat your Rivals with the Ferrari Edizioni Speciali bundle. Includes both Cop and Racer versions of these Extreme Machines – The Ferrari F40 and the Ferrari F50 Simply Jaguar Cops: Take down Rivals and Racers in Redview County using the most advanced Jaguar ever created – the Jaguar C-X75 Prototype and the worlds first hypercar – The Jaguar XJ220 Simply Jaguar Racers: Stay one step ahead of the Cops and your Rivals using the most advanced Jaguar ever created – The Jaguar C-X75 Prototype and the worlds first hypercar – the Jaguar XJ220 Simply Jaguar Complete Pack: Take down Racers, stay one step ahead of the cops and beat your Rivals with the Simply Jaguar bundle. Includes both Cop and Racer versions of the Jaguar C-X75 Prototype, the most advanced Jaguar ever created and the Jaguar XJ220 the world’s first hypercar Rivals Content Update (FREE): Need for Speed Rivals has been updated to bring you a brand new selection of add-ons to enhance your Need for Speed experience and expand your car collection. Visit the Store now to purchase some cool new super cars. With our new Need for Speed Micro Packs you can choose to purchase the Cop cars, the Racer cars or a bargain combo pack containing both – Now you can decide how to take down your Rivals and escape the cops in the world of Red View County Please note that a title reboot is required after downloading to gain access to this content Ferrari Edizioni Speciali Trailer Simply Jaguar Trailer NFS Rivals: Ferrari & Jaguar DLC Gallery [gallery size=gallery-thumbnail" itemtag="div" icontag="span" link="file" columns="4" ids="2520,2535,2524,2525,2523,2522,2521,2526,2527,2528,2529,2530] The packs are available on Xbox Live right now and should be on PSN sometime tomorrow. Thanks - Need For Speed YouTube / Xbox Live Marketplace

What will EA do to save their failing franchise 1991 was a big year for Electronic Arts, purchasing Distinctive Software (the company originally credited with beginning the "Test Drive" series) for $11 million USD, a decision that would ultimately lead the gaming developer to sell over an estimated 150 million copies worldwide making it the most successful racing franchise of all time. The Need For Speed came out in 1994 on 3DO under EA Canada (Distinctive Software was renamed) and later came out in 1995 on PC (running in DOS mode) and 1996 on the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. EA Canada continued to produce NFS games until 2002 when EA Black Box had their release of Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2; Hot Pursuit 2 changed the shift from realistic styled racing to more arcade, by ditching the interior view and by ramming other racers to stop them when playing as a cop. And then 2003 happened... November 17th, 2003 became a focus point in the history of the Need For Speed franchise; the launch of Need For Speed: Underground by EA Black Box would change the focus of the franchise forever and is the defining point where the fans of Need For Speed split in two, forever. Long gone were the days of isolated circuits and interior cockpit viewpoint, Underground proposed a new style of racing game, something called "open world". Alongside the new open world city, was a story line told in pre-rendered videos, another first for the franchise. The game capitalized on the success of Fast and the Furious, implementing street racing with tuner cars and the ability to customize them visually and mechanically. The trend of car customization and street racing continued until 2009 when a brand new Developer called Slightly Mad Studios took Need For Speed in an entirely different direction. Need For Speed: Shift released on September 15th, 2009 and was focused on a more authentic, simulation experience; real tracks were added and the cockpit view made a triumphant return, thus bringing back many loyal fans of the original NFS games. New iterations of the series have come out on a yearly basis, much the same attitude as Call of Duty... and this has produced quite the problem. A sharp decline in sales has had the publisher set the series to Ghost Games - which consists of many members of the Criterion team. The reviews for the games have been above average but it appears that the series has dropped into a mediocre status among fans, who give the games much lower scores than the media. Rumours have circulated regarding Ghost rebooting the "Underground" games in 2014, with a return to a start of lower tier cars and full car customization. What we do know, is that with Need For Speed coming to theatres on March 14th, 2014, Electronic Arts is looking to expand and revive the gaming franchise in a very, very big way. No matter the future of the series, it has changed racing games forever and has been with us for 20 years. Love it or hate it (or both) it will leave a lasting impression upon gamers and has left it's mark upon the gaming industry to stand the test of time. *NFS Underground 3 image by gyroxopex.deviantart.com [gallery size=gallery-thumbnail" itemtag="div" icontag="span" link="file" ids="2502,2503,2504]