Well, EA should have known better...
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3171828

It doesn't exactly come as sad news.

Quote from Colin Macrae, EA Director Of Communications :

We're working through a process...

Incrementing the number on the title and adding more shiny stuff is not a process.

Should have been abandoned after NFS5.

Quote from deggis :

Should have been abandoned after NFS1.

I agree

if i know well, they shut down the Black Box studios what makes the last few nfs(worst nfs episodes ever) and they gave the series to the Criterion what makes the Burnout series(and paradise for pc), so maybe they will give us a good nfs

Does anyone actually care? I mean really what is this announcement about: EA are going to stop one of their money printing presses because there's a newer bigger money printing press that's just been built and we want the staff to work that one instead.

EA director of communications Colin Macrae provided Electric Playground with the following comment.

Funny that, no one noticed?

Quote from deggis :

Should have been abandoned after NFS5.

I think that was the only good one they ever produced.

thats prolly the best news i heard all day

NFS5 was awesome. Can't count how many hours I spent on that game. Oh well, there's enough other games now that NFS will not be missed.

The rumours are saying that Criterion (of Burnout fame) may end up taking over the franchise (as tikshow said). That could be either really good for the series, or a complete disaster for Criterion.

I don't know the numbers of the series, but the ones I really loved were the original, Hot Pursuit (1 & 2), Porsche Unleashed (of course) and Motor City Online. The first Underground was horrible (go-faster neons!) and anything after that was packed with fail.

Say what you like about how samey the roads are in Paradise, but it's still fun.

Quote from deggis :

Should have been abandoned after NFS5.

No the should have kept with that style instead of going to stupid tunning 12 year old crap.

It was getting more and more childish.

We want to have MCO-like or Porsche-like games, from EA.

Need for Speed:High Stakes (Sister version was Road Challenge ? (think I had both, but they're the same game !))

Something like that again, but possibly free-roam + MMO style online play.

Imagine bumbling about in a UK liveried M5 (the E36 model <3) and seeing a Diablo blow past. Speed off blues & twos a'flashing & call for roadblocks & stingers.

Christ I would LOVE a modern day graphics High stakes. Please EA/Criterion ?

Sarge.

Oh dammit! All the tuner games have left the scene! Juiced died, SRS failed, and now Need for speed. All there is to hope for is Midnight club.

*searching for modded .vob files*

I suspect that's because once you reach the end-game, all cars end up with the same, 5-star parts and at that point it stops being about the tuning and starts being about the actual driving. And if the racing mechanic isn't good then there's nothing left to do but start the grind over.

Motor City Online was great, even if it never delivered what it promised. That was the first instanced MMOG and people didn't get it. If they hadn't advertised it as an MMO it would probably have done better, or if they'd used the Porsche engine rather than the previous game's. People wanted to see hundreds of cars shooting around but they couldn't do it on NFS4 tech. But the actual racing and modding bits were great.
The fact that it was all dyno-based meant that there was no "best part" so each car remained different. And the fact it was all classic muscle cars just made it cool

I'm sure it could be done now though. A working city to drive round like Burnout Paradise, the range of parts and events that MCO had, police chases like Hot Pursuit and a physics engine like Porsche Unleashed. That spells win.

I'd love them to do final need for speed with the original theme. Point to point tracks, great video footage, enjoyable physics (maybe somthing like GT5, not too serious) and lots of fast exotic cars with fully detailed 3d models, parts flying off etc.. kinda like gumball style but with less booze and more racing. Less buggy and much more fun than test drive:u.

I'd buy 3. Make it work online and you have a cult following you.

Upgraded NFS: road challenge FTW!

I just read about this, I'm glad they dropped it. The series really got crappier every year. They kept downgrading the game instead of making it better.
I didn't bother buying any of them after the first underground. Got Underground 2 and Most Wanted gifted to me, but I wouldn't buy any of them.
I hope the new team will make it break through again.

I remember the good times of NFS Porsche, on it's time it had pretty good physics too. Tho I always wondered why I couldn't do a proper donut with 911.

Road Challenge / High stakes, NFS3 Hot Pursuit, they were very good too back then.

But as already said from the first Underground they turned into crap.

Tho at the same time the difference between these arcade racing games and simulations have been getting bigger and bigger. I don't think there is going to be new NFS which would be as good physics-wise than NFS5 did back then.

Finalay!!!! it has come to and end goodbye most crap race game on earth

NFS is fun when you want to have a laugh and not get assrammed by a server full of uber-realistic hotlappers shouting 'Moooooveee blooo flag' at you when they're half a lap behind.

But the last few NFS titles have been alarmingly similar, so EA have been flogging a dead horse for a while.

Plus Burnout is even more fun, Burnout Paradise killed NFS.

i have all of the nfs series on the shelf behind me and i'll agree 5 was the best, 8 was good if you ignore the crappy modding shit, but the big beef is that EA have been catering for the chav crowd for too long. either can the series or do a proper reboot, ditch this rice/modding shit and bring back what the original game was about

racing expensive cars we would never be able to. cops can go as well.

If NFS could get some ok driving physics, it would rock, and if they removed the rubber-band effect. Meaning that the AI's will be glued to 'yer ass no matter how fast you drive...

Nice cars + fair enough physics + tracks NOT in the freaking city = win.