Criterion/EA's Past Includes Need For Speed: Split Second
Need for Speed: Hot PursuitSplit/Second was damn good. We expect the same goodness from Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.
But what's the connection? Well, in name at least, it's an interesting factoid: speaking in this month's issue of GamesTM (as cited by GamerZines), Criterion Games designer Craig Sullivan said the team approached EA eight years ago to develop a "stunt racing game" called "Need for Speed: Split Second." So what happened? Well, EA was none too happy about the developers walking away from a sequel to the C64 classic Skate or Die, which had been a secret project at the time. Said Criterion's Alex Ward:
"We called a meeting with the EA guys, told them we were walking away and they went mad, threatening to sue us, put us out of business... there was a lot of anger and frustration. Then we got a call from the Need For Speed guys and they said 'we can't work with you guys any more; you just walked away and there's a shame on your company, so we can't talk to you'.
I remember coming back to my desk and there was a folder on my desktop called EA and I just clicked delete. We learned a lot about how a game should be made."
Did anybody laugh out loud at that last bit? It all worked out, of course, as Criterion was given the opportunity to produce a Burnout title, and everything snowballed from there. We're willing to bet they're good buddies with EA after the success of the Burnout franchise and now, EA is publishing their new title, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. Speaking of the latter, you'll be able to "race or chase" on November 19; the new NFS will be available on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and PC.
Always interesting to learn more about some history, though, right?
Related Game(s): Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
Tags: need for speed, hot pursuit, criterion games
8/28/2010 9:18:39 AM Ben Dutka
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Comments (24 posts)
Hezzron
Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 9:58:06 AM
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...and for those of you wondering, no, prison food doesn't taste that bad.
6 up, 0 down
Killa Tequilla
Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 10:06:34 AM
0 up, 7 down
yak4life85
Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 10:13:22 AM
PS. DUI's suck!
1 up, 1 down
totozero18
Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 4:57:52 PM
@Yak: lol that sucks, lucky me never fell asleep visiting the big house
1 up, 0 down
Alienange
Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 10:33:31 AM
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2 up, 0 down
Ultimate_Balla
Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 11:48:38 AM
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4 up, 0 down
swapnilgyani
Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 12:46:51 PM
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3 up, 0 down
Simcoe
Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 1:27:03 PM
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0 up, 0 down
Lawless SXE
Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 1:34:47 PM
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Peace.
2 up, 1 down
frostface
Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 3:01:00 PM
Probably before your day my friend, real old school!
2 up, 0 down
Lawless SXE
Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 5:04:18 PM
0 up, 0 down
Highlander
Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 6:10:40 PM
8-bit home computer. Based on a variant of the venerable 6502 running at a stunning 1 MHz (which was actually about half the speed of my humble BBC Micro which ran at 2MHz) and had a whopping 64KB of RAM.
It was a very popular home computer back in the day. Amazingly, considering the difference in specification, Commodore was also behind the Amiga just a few years later.
Last edited by Highlander on 8/28/2010 6:11:54 PM
2 up, 0 down
BikerSaint
Sunday, August 29, 2010 @ 12:40:43 AM
As Highlander & Frostface already pointed out, the C64 started out as a computer.
And you could play gaming cassettes on it(yes, they used cassettes before cartridges for gaming....way back in the era of us "old School'ers").
But later on, C64 also spun off a gaming system too, though it was "ill-fated" & problematic from it's very start.
Anyway, if you're still interesting in a good read on some of our gaming's history, here's everything you'd ever want to know about the C64....
Images of C64's, it's games & tons of assorted accessories...(click on pic's to zoom in)
(Note that as each model was upgraded, Commodore designated it an alphabetical letter to it, C64A, etc....
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&biw=1280&bih=822&q=Commodore+64&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
All about the C64:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64
C64 GS(gaming system):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64_Games_System
BTW, I never got a C64. Instead, I dabbled around with the "Texas Instruments" computer instead. ($99 back then)
2 up, 0 down
Knightedrik
Sunday, August 29, 2010 @ 7:20:42 AM
2 up, 0 down
Highlander
Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 6:20:48 PM
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3 up, 0 down
RebelJD
Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 6:50:36 PM
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Maiq The Liar
Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 7:31:55 PM
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___________
Sunday, August 29, 2010 @ 2:25:44 AM
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looking forward to hot pursuit though, ive been screaming for a sequel for years and finally EA have listened!
so....... maybe, we can have a BLACK sequel now?
black has left THQ, so once criterion finishes this i dont see why we cant have a BLACK sequel.
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Naga
Sunday, August 29, 2010 @ 8:59:24 AM
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___________
Monday, August 30, 2010 @ 8:14:10 AM
so thats why it was called gun porn?
rrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiigggggggggghhhhhhhhhttttttttt...............
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Snaaaake
Reply
Saturday, August 28, 2010 @ 9:55:16 AM
It's a shame though, who knows what Criterion would have done for the NFS franchise back then.
But now they're actually doing NFS.