Electronic Arts said today it has sold more than 100 million units of its Need for Speed racing video games since 1993. Gamers have raced cars in the game for more than 279 billion virtual miles.
Full told, Need for Speed has generated more than $2.7 billion in revenue for EA. But the racing game has gone through ups and downs through 15 different versions, and EA is still trying to reinvent and refresh the game, said Keith Munro (below), vice president of global marketing for the franchise.
On average, Need for Speed has sold some 12 million units per year in the last five years. As a video game franchise, Need for Speed ranks No. 4 on a worldwide basis. The No. 1-selling title of all time, The Sims, managed to hit 100 million sold in just eight years in April, 2008. Need for Speed took twice as long, but the achievement is still nothing to sneeze at. After all, in the time it took Need for Speed to sell 100 million units, there were only 93 million real cars sold in the U.S.
Over the years, the franchise has evolved through 15 different major games on 14 platforms. It used to focus on super cars racing through the Italian countryside. With the groundbreaking Need for Speed Underground game in 2003, the game shifted toward the pop culture interest in street racing, born from the 2001 movie The Fast and the Furious. It 
had more “accessible” cars that you could actually buy. You could trick them out and race them through city streets and evade cops. It was an open world, not a race course, and you could drive all over the place. The Need for Speed Underground game led to a major revival of sales, but it peaked in 2005 with Need for Speed Most Wanted with 16 million sold.
In recent years, sales of the franchise declined, hitting a low with Need for Speed Pro Street in 2007. EA had one studio working on the games and it was over-taxed. Last year, EA split the franchise up and brought in another studio. Now it has split the franchise into three different product lines: an action game for mass market fans, a simulation game for hardcore racing fans, and an arcade version for casual fans.
EA introduced Need for Speed Shift (above and right) in the simulation category this September. And it is about to release an arcade game, Need for Speed Nitro for the Nintendo Wii (pictured bottom), and the handheld Nintendo DS. The Nintendo game keeps the edgy attitude of the franchise but is much easier to drive, using a motion-sensing Wii controller. It has cars such as Lamborghinis, but also Volkswagen vans and Nissan Cubes for a goofy racing experience. The funny cars are a must on the Wii, where the top racing game of 2008 was the goofy Mario Kart game from Nintendo.
John Riccitiello, chief executive of EA, called this a “three pillar” strategy for Need for Speed. It is aimed at reviving the franchise and targeting the tastes of different crowds. EA is also extending the franchise to new platforms such as the iPhone. It remains to be seen if it will work. Odds are good that this will be an above average year, since there are two major releases. Next year, EA is expected to launch an action version of the game.
Also, in perhaps the biggest experiment of all, EA plans to launch Need for Speed World Online in the fall of 2010. This online-only game will be a free-to-play game, where players can play for free but pay for upgrades via micro transactions.