Need For Speed (Video Game Series)

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Genre	Driving/Racing
Gamming Style	Single player, Multiplayer
Platform	PlayStation, Xbox, PC
Release Date	November, 2015 (Need for Speed)
Developer	EA (1994-Present) Criterion Games (2010-Present) Ghost Games (2013-Present)
Publisher	Electronic Arts
Website	www.needforspeed.com

Need For Speed is a racing video game franchise created by Electronic Arts across platforms like the Playstation, Xbox, and PC. Most commonly referred to as "NFS", Need For Speed has sold over 150 million copies since its release in 1993, making it the best selling driving game in the world. Game play allows players to choose their own car from a wide variety of types and brands including Ford, Lamborghini, Nissan, Chevrolet, Porsche, and Ferrari among many others. After selecting a car, players can then customize paint colors, body parts, and engine components to their liking, giving it its own unique look and driving style. Players may then take their customized cars and compete in a number of different types of races against computers or other players to gain access to more cars and customization options as well as in game currency to purchase them.

Facts

• The first title in this series, released in 1994 for the 3DO game console was called The Need For Speed.
• While police chases have always been a prominent aspect of Need For Speed, Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit was the first game in the series to allow players to play as both police and racers. Being as this title was made for PC, the first console title to have a similar feature was Need For Speed: High Stakes, released a year later.
• The original Need For Speed: Most Wanted released in 2005 is the series' best selling title with over 16 million copies sold.
• Need For Speed: Underground was the title that shifted game play from more formal point to point racing on tracks to street style racing and tuner culture.
• Need For Speed: Underground 2 was the first title to feature free roam, allowing players to drive around the game map at their leisure without racing or story continuation. This feature has been prevalent in most titles that have followed.

Titles List

• The Need For Speed(1994)
• Need For Speed II (1997)
• Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit (1998)
• Need For Speed: High Stakes(1999)
• Need For Speed: Porsche Unleashed (2000)
• Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (2002)
• Need For Speed: Underground (2003)
• Need For Speed: Underground 2 (2004)
• Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2005)
• Need For Speed: Carbon (2006)
• Need For Speed: Pro Street (2007)
• Need For Speed: Undercover (2008)
• Need For Speed: Shift (2009)
• Need For Speed: Nitro (2009)
• Need For Speed: World (2010)
• Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit (2010)
• Need For Speed: Shift 2 Unleashed (2011)
• Need For Speed: The Run (2011)
• Need For Speed: Most Wanted (2012)
• Need For Speed: Rivals (2013)
• Need For Speed: No Limits (2015)
• Need For Speed (2015)

Ethical Implications

Unsafe Driving

Continental Tyre study results in percentages

There have been concerns that playing racing video games promotes unsafe or bad driving habits. A study done by Continental Tyres polled 1,000 people between the ages of 17 and 39 who play racing video games and 1,000 people in the same age group who do not play racing video games to see if these games actually have effects on driving habits. The study found that people who play racing video games, such as Need For Speed, are more likely to get into car accidents, get pulled over, and take more risks on the road. However, the study also found that people who play racing games require less attempts to pass their driving test, taking, on average, two tries compared to three by non-players.

Sexualization of Women

Title screen of NFS Underground 2, featuring actress Brooke Burke

While many titles in the Need For Speed series feature female protagonists in the storyline, which is rare among video games, most often these women are sexualized in some manner. These women wear revealing clothing or talk in a sexualized manner to the player, usually as an attempt by the video game company to appeal to male teenagers, the majority of their player base. This skewed gender norm can also be seen during gameplay in some introduction screens, as well as at the start of racing events in which a scantily clad woman will give a countdown and wave a flag to signal them to go. Some actresses that have been featured in lead roles in the Need For Speed series include Christina Wolfe, Josie Maran, and Brooke Burke

Song Lyrics

Many songs in the Need For Speed series contain lyrics that are considered offensive or inappropriate for younger children. These songs include swear words, suggestive phrases, or explicit descriptions of sexual actions. While these lyrics are muted out of the song in the games, this still gives players the opportunity to look the same songs up online. This could potentially expose younger players to song lyrics that are not appropriate for them. Get Low by Lil Jon and Love Me or Hate Me by Lady Sovereign are just two example of songs containing lyrics that had to be muted in the game.