Need for Speed Turns 30: The Lasting Legacy of EA’s Fastest Franchise

ign.com:

It’s December 1994. The Santa Clause, Miracle on 34th Street, Pulp Fiction, and Forrest Gump are duking it out at the global box office. Boyz II Men’s On Bended Knee is about to (temporarily) cede the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 to Here Comes the Hotstepper by lyrical gangster Ini Kamoze. In video games, the original PlayStation has just launched in Japan.

But forget the PlayStation for a moment, because December 1994 also marked the arrival of another interactive icon: The Need for Speed, on the ill-fated 3DO home game console. The 3DO, despite being lauded as Time Magazine’s 1993 Product of the Year, was ultimately a flop. There was no '3DO II'. The Need for Speed, however, was not a flop. There was a Need for Speed II. And III. And a fourth, fifth, sixth, and so on.

In fact, 30 years later the Need for Speed series is still with us.

And it’s become one of the best-selling game series of all time.

“Need for Speed is actually one of the most successful game franchises ever,” notes Criterion Senior Creative Director John Stanley. Stanley has been with Criterion for 14 years working across multiple EA series, from Battlefield to Battlefront, but his predominant focus is Need for Speed. “So it’s a very big honour and mantle to be lifted each time.”

15 years ago, sales figures for the franchise hit 100 million copies. A decade ago they’d rocketed past 150 million. Precisely what they sit at today is not known, but what’s clear is Need for Speed’s success and longevity make it a monster within the racing genre.

It certainly got off to a flying start. The original Need for Speed was an immediate critical hit, despite the 3DO’s own particular woes. Fortunately, subsequent ports to PC, PlayStation, and Sega Saturn would go on to make The Need for Speed a commercial smash as well.

Presented by Road & Track Magazine and developed by EA Canada, The Need for Speed’s 3DO debut boasted just eight cars – a modest mix of European exotics and 1990s sports icons from the US