Need For Speed (NFS) is a series of racing video games developed by Canadian based company EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. The series was originally developed by the Canadian based company Distinctive Software, which became known as EA Canada. The series debuted with The Need for Speed in North America, Japan, and Europe in 1997. Initially, the series was exclusive to the fifth generation consoles and was featured in all of the seventh generation video game consoles by 2008. The games consist mainly of racing with various cars on various tracks, and to some extent, include police pursuits in races. In Japan, the series was released as Over Drivin. After the release of Need for Speed: High Stakes, it adopted the western name. Since Need for Speed: Underground, the series has integrated car body customization into gameplay.

Gameplay

The Need for Speed and its sequels are racing games that employ the same fundamental rules and mechanics. The player controls a race car in a variety of races where they look to win the race. In the tournament/career mode, the player must win a series of races in order to unlock vehicles, tracks, etc. Before playing each race, the player chooses a vehicle to race in and has the option of choosing the transmission of the vehicle, which includes automatic and manual transmission. During each race the player can perform, burn outs, powerslides, and use nitrous, which all enhance the performance of the vehicle. Each game in the series is based on realistic modeling of cars, as the player is able to accelerate, brake, drive in-reverse, and has the ability to turn, similarly to real life vehicles. The player may use these features during each race to enhance their performance in it and improve their ability to win each race.

Almost all the games in the franchise included the game mode of police pursuit, which started with the first game in the series The Need for Speed and returned with Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. On the first game, the player races against the X-Man, the objective is to beat him without getting arrested. From the third game onwards, the player can play as the felon or the cop; as in a real police pursuit, the player must elude the police, or if playing as the cop, must pursue the felon. Introduced in Need for Speed: Underground was the concept of drifting and drafting, which are used in drift and drag racing, respectively. These new mechanics are included in the tournament/career mode aside from the regular street races. In drift races, the player must defeat other racers by setting higher points than the other racers; these points are earned by the length and timing of the drift made by the player's vehicle. In drag races, the player uses a car set in manual transmission. The objective in this type of race is to follow an opposing car and mimic its performance to gain a boost in the player's speed. Like an ordinary street race, the player must finish first to win the race, though if the player crashes into an obstacle, the race ends.