EA admits to “torturing” NFS devs, announces NFS: Undercover

Just how rough a year was 2007 for the Need for Speed franchise? Well, things with Need for Speed ProStreet (PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, Wii) got so bad that it forced EA’s hand to reform the distribution of manpower in its Vancouver studios. There will be twice the staff and longer development periods to allow devs to increase quality on their projects. More in the full story up ahead.

In a recent meeting between top Electronic Arts investors, company CEO John Riccitiello confessed that for the past eight years, he and the rest of the EA bosses have been “torturing” developers for the Need For Speed series. He also announced that a new game in the franchise is being prepared and it’s going to be called Need For Speed undercover.

Riccitiello was referring to 12-month development cycles for each NFS game made in those eight years. He pointed out that the stress and tight schedules may have been impeding innovation for games.

He got that right. The last installment in the series, Need for Speed ProStreet (PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, Wii) received lukewarm reception from fans and the media. ProStreet, one might say, took a sharp turn, crashed, and burned with its technical and conceptual issues.

“I thought it was an okay game, in terms of gameplay. It’s not good,” Riccitiello admits. After which, he introduced a new plan to steer the franchise’s wheel on the right track.

“Last summer we added head count and split the team in two, so now there are two teams on a 24 month cycle,” he said. He then concluded that things should get better from here on out as the game re-adopts a more chase-oriented motif.

We certainly hope this new work paradigm brings in some changes. The franchise has too much history and followers to just let go to waste.

Via Eurogamer