«Previous post | Next post»

EA announced earlier this year that many players for Need for Speed may need a constant online connection, but now we’re learning not only is that true, but there’s a very gimmicky reason behind it. Executive producer Marcus Nilsson sat with Official Xbox Magazine, and explained to fans why you will need to constantly be online to play Need for Speed. Going from Need for Speed Hot Pursuit with Autolog all the way to Need for Speed Rivals—the system hasn’t done very well for fans at all.

There will be plenty of cars in NFS 2015.

“This time around we’re going to give it more of a human voice,” Nilsson says. “It will treat your friends play as if it’s a part of the narrative experience.”

In this new system, you’ll be granted in-game currency for simple things. You can take pictures in-game and post them, and depending on how many “likes” you get, you’ll earn money. This doesn’t sound like that great of a reason to force people into an always online mode, or have a constant online connection. It’s obvious why people don’t want an always online game.

– No internet connection to begin with
– Not very sociable online
– Only interested in solo narrative
– Doesn’t want stats tracked

Once you got the cops full attention, you better be a darn good driver.

EA forcing consumers into a situation they don’t have a choice with is a classic example of their behavior lately. What I mean by this is when Need for Speed Rivals was introduced it gave you the option to play as a cop or a racer. When you got online you could eradicate your friends score by chasing them down or seeing how well they were doing compared to you. The game created a forced sense of rivalry instead of surprised rivalry. Aside from this there wasn’t a complete story, no sense of customization in the game and you didn’t have a huge setting to play in. EA, along with Ghost Games isn’t upping the bar very much as far as this new game is concerned. They’re merely giving players what they want with the same platter to eat off of. Take it or leave it if you will.

NFS 2015 is set for a release on the third of November this year (For Windows, PS4 and Xbox One).

Still, with the game in press stages at the moment and preparing for its release on November 3, 2015 a simple patch can change the online requirements—but it’s doubtful EA will do this, in lieu of gaining consumer feedback from Facebook or Twitter for the photo sharing gimmick. Stay tuned as we develop more.

***Disclaimer***
This is a personal opinion of the writer, and it doesn’t necessarily represent the other writers (nor The Gaming Ground´s) opinions.