Shift Blog

Six New Multiplayer Playlists for Your Gaming Pleasure

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:50:17 GMT

When we released the Italian Edition Pack for Need for Speed The Run we added more than cars and Challenge Series. If you purchased the Italian Pack or downloaded the title update released just before it came out then you've got access to six new multiplayer playlists!

- Manufacturer Battles – Race with a single stock car from select manufacturers
- Hazardous Conditions – A collection of races featuring snow, back roads and twisty hills
- Signature Edition Racing – Exclusive races for signature edition cars
- Car Battles – Each session offers a pairing of rival cars
- Technical Challenge – Race the fastest cars on the most technical tracks
- Classic Car Racing – Rip it up with classic cars from The Run

The thing is, we haven't turned them on yet...we want you, the community, to decide which playlist gets turned on first! Every Tuesday for the next six weeks we're going to let you vote for which play list to activate for the week. Then, on Friday we'll turn on the playlist just in time for the community gaming session and leave on until the next week's gaming session.

If you want to cast your vote then go to the Need for Speed Facebook page now and select your favorite playlist in the poll.

Featured Story

The Beast Is Back!

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:16:37 GMT

This year's Beast is here and with it, returns the origional Beast from 2011. Because two Beasts packs a punch! Fill your collection with the Lexus LFA and Corvette Z06!

Exotic In Looks And Beast At Heart!

The Lexus LFA is a Beast all on its own, thus making it a natural selection for this year’s “V10 Beast.”

Its powerful V10 engine generates over 550hp and revs to more than 9000rpm, more than enough to make any driving enthusiast smile. The custom livery and “Heart Breaker” neon also sets this bad boy apart from the rest!

Decked out in a high downforce wide-body kit and BBS alloys, this V10 Beast is ready to scream into the higher RPM’s.

Go to the Car Dealer today and add this year’s “Beast” to your collection!

The Beast Is Back!

One of the most popular cars ever in NFS World, “The Beast” returns and like its original partner, has had some recent upgrades.

Both original and new owners will experience the improved steering response, overall acceleration and top speed increase! You asked for it and you got it! These polish tunes will allow you to run with the front of the pack.

The Corvette Z06 features a snarling V8 under its louvered hood plus a wide body kit which adds to its aggressive stance! Its black paint job with red two-tones gives this Tier 3 predator even more presence.

Go to the Car Dealer today and add the original “Beast” to your collection!

Featured Story

The Beauty Returns!

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:08:55 GMT

Add these Beauties to your car collection! This year's Beauty, the Corvette Z06 Carbon Limited Edition, returns with the original Beauty from 2011, the Lexus IS-F just in time for Valentines!

She's Back With Even More Attitude!

The new Z06 Carbon Limited Edition “V8 Beauty” has become the belle of the ball for this years’ Valentines celebration.

The improved aluminum V8 engine produces over 500 horsepower and with refined aerodynamics, you will be able to hit your top-speed even quicker. This year’s Beauty features a wide body kit, 20” BBS alloys, a new custom livery plus a pink “shattered heart” neon that will set you apart from the rest!

Hit the throttle and listen to the race-bred engine sing! Go to the Car Dealer today to complete your “Beauty” and “The Beast” set!

Origional Beauty Returns With Upgraded Performance!

Making its illustrious return is last year’s “Beauty”, the Lexus IS-F. This tier 2 white-clad sports sedan has a sheer heart of gold and will leave your opponents in a trail of dust!

This Beauty has a secret - her female driver will pilot a V8 engine and suspension package that has been completely re-tuned and upgraded! Both original and new owners of this custom sedan will get to experience the refreshed tunings!

With its recent upgrades, the Lexus IS-F is now tuned to be a front runner and won’t disappoint. Go to the Car Dealer and get the original “Beauty” while you can!

Featured Story

NFSW Maintenance - February 7

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:08:54 GMT

Purpose:

The purpose of this maintenance window is to deploy server / a game patch to Need for Speed World. Please see Release Notes below.

Date:

February 7th, 2012

Duration(s):

4 hours

Start: 2pm (14:00) PST -- 5pm (17:00) EST -- 10pm (22:00) GMT

End: 6pm (18:00) PST -- 9pm (21:00) EST -- 2am (2:00) GMT

Affected Users:

During the maintenance window, the servers will be offline and users will not able to log in and play Need for Speed World. Players who are already logged in and playing NFS World will be disconnected from the server and therefore, disconnected from the game.

New Features:

- Chat enhancements:

- Players are now able to chat while in the Safehouse

- When sending a whisper to another Driver, a separate chat filter is created to allow the player to see a record of the conversation between two players

- A notification icon will appear when receiving updates to specific chat filters

- Two new Team Escape events have been added to the game: “High Stakes” and “Underground”

- For a limited time only, A Valentine Aftermarket Card Pack is available for purchase and includes exclusive Valentine’s Day Neons and License Plates

- The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 “2011 Beast” has been reintroduced to Need for Speed World and is available for purchase from the Car Dealer

- The Lexus IS F “2011 Beauty” has been reintroduced to Need for Speed World and is available for purchase from the Car Dealer

- An all new Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Carbon Limited Edition “2012 Beauty” has been added to the game and is available for purchase from the Car Dealer

- An all new Lexus LFA “2012 Beast” has been added to the game and is available for purchase form the Car Dealer

Bug Fixes/Changes:

- Existing Team Escape events have been adjusted for difficulty. Time limits are now shorter, while Rep and Cash rewards have increased

- The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 has undergone retuning to increase the car’s top speed and enhance its handling

- The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 bumper cam has been adjusted

- The Lexus LFA’s engine sound has been changed to match the real-life acoustics of the LFA’s V10 4.8L engine and multi-stage exhaust system

- The Lexus IS F has undergone retuning to increase the car’s top speed and enhance its handling

- A 7th gear has been added to the Lexus IS F

- The Lexus IS F’s bumper cam has been adjusted

- The “/f” friends chat functionality has been fixed

- Fixed an issue that caused exhaust tips to clip into the Lamborghini Countach 5000 QUATTROVALVOLE’s body when equipped with visual packages

- Fixed an issue that caused 2 steering wheels to appear on the Nissan 200SX while in minimum level of detail

- Some missing vinyl thumbnail images were added for the Koenigsegg CCX “Elite”

- Some minor world/environment fixes were made

- Some missing mouse-over SFX were added when highlighting elements in the Aftermarket Shop

Featured Story

Important Update to SHIFT 2 UNLEASHED Servers

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:43:18 GMT

Please be aware that today (Monday, February 6th) the team will be implementing an update to the SHIFT 2 UNLEASHED servers. As a result of this update, players will NO LONGER BE ABLE TO CHANGE THEIR EA ACCOUNT PASSWORD FROM WITHIN SHIFT 2 UNLEASHED.

If you do attempt to change your password from within the game you'll receive an error message stating that the new password is invalid. For PC players specifically, if they change their password outside of the game (through Origin, for example) they will not be able to log into Autolog, or in extreme cases will have to delete their save game files in order to connect to Autolog.

If you experience any issues with your password in SHIFT 2 UNLEASHED, please contact EA Customer Support.

Featured Story

Need for Speed Week In Review – February 3

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:39:26 GMT

There was big news this week for Need for Speed fans!

We launched the Italian Edition DLC Pack for The Run, featuring seven gorgeous Italian supercars, and ten new Challenge Series events. Throughout the week, we’ve been unveiling screenshots of the cars, but if you can’t wait, you can see all of them in the trailer now!

Included in the pack is the Pagani Zonda R, which is absolutely incredible. On Monday, we posted a real-life video featuring two of them stretching their legs on a track day. The engine sound is unbelievable! Watch it HERE!

Not only did we release the Italian pack, but PC users got a huge patch this week! Featuring all kinds of updates, the patch also gives users the Signature Edition Booster Pack for free! Thanks for being patient guys!

Our Photo Mode Competition is still going strong, and this week we’re posting albums for you guys to vote on:

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4

If you don’t have The Run, now is a perfect time to get it! Thanks to Shell, The Run is 20% off on Origin! All you have to do is type “Shell” in the Promo Code section at checkout.

For those of you with a Windows Phone, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit is now available! The mobile version is awesome, so download it today!

Lastly, our Podcast this week discusses all the latest news, Coulter talks about cuddling with Wombats, and Petra scuba dives with enormous jellyfishes.The episode is now up on iTunes, and our RSS feed.

Featured Story

Need for Speed The Run Time Attack Community Challenge - Outrun

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:53:04 GMT

The seventh Need for Speed The Run Time Attack community challenge has begun!

This is a weekly challenge where we put the community's driving skills to the test by challenging everyone to beat our times in a Challenge Series event. NFSDrew laid down another platinum time so once again it's going to take some skill to beat his time of 1:25.03 in the Outrun event in the Nevada Dreams Challenge Series.

Here's how to enter this challenge:
1. Beat NFSDrew's time in the same Challenge Series event
2. Grab a picture of your race time on the post-race screen
3. Twitpic it to @NeedForSpeed with the hashtag #NFSTheRunTimeAttack

(We'll also take video entries; just be sure to submit your video as a response to our Time Attack video on YouTube)

At the end of the week we'll randomly draw from the pool of all entries one lucky winner who will receive a very cool prize from the Need for Speed swag cabinet!

A couple of rules you need to be aware of:
- There are no regional restrictions for this challenge. Anybody anywhere in the world can enter!
- This competition is open to all platforms.
- You can use any car available in the Challenge Series event
- Your twitpic and/or video must clearly display your race time. If we can't read it, it won't be considered a valid entry
- If you do choose to submit via YouTube video, it must be submitted as a response to our video
- Use of cheat programs or trainers is prohibited
- A player can only win one week in a row

Bring it on!

Featured Story

Community Spotlight: Quinton Hollis

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:04:41 GMT

This gamer has a lot of passions including Need for Speed World, Lamborghinis, MMOs, music, singing and playing piano. Oh and just to round out his already diverse interests, how about a little archery too?

Let’s get better acquainted with Quinton Hollis from Oklahoma USA!

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Quinton, aka "stretch" aka Tarentino! I'm 19 years old and I attend college in Oklahoma, USA. I’ve been in love with cars and racing ever since I can remember. Sadly though, I have never had any really cool cars but a really fun car that I owned was a '82 Civic DX Eagle Edition (4 cyl, custom 5 speed manual). Man, that car was fun!

How long have you been playing NFSW?

Hmmm, I think I started about 9 months ago.

What’s your favourite car(s) in NFSW?

Oh man, this is like asking me to pick my favorite family member! I love all my cars, but my favorites would have to be my Lamborghinis. I have one of each. My Gallardo is colored in the LP550-2 Valentino Balboni colors, and my Murcielargo is candy blue. I also love to drive my halfway-pro parted and dark metallic green Pontiac GTO but my heart still belongs to my Gallardo, it's just too gorgeous.

Your most memorable experience in the game?

I love the car shows that the community throws occasionally! Those are always a blast to attend. My favorite one was when my Murcielargo went up against the most amazing M3 driver I've ever raced. He drove flawlessly and beat me by 0.8 seconds in a 5 minute, heart-pounding circuit race!

What do you like most about NFSW?

The cars, hands down. I just love to buy cars, part them out, drive them endlessly and enjoy the amazing sound. To me, the car's performance is secondary when compared to the way it looks and sounds. I just love to cruise and do private races. I have 12 cars but plan to get more as I progress through the game.

What other console or online games do you play?

Well, when it comes to MMO's, the questions would be, what have I NOT played! I play LOTRO, EVE online, Forsaken world, Heat Online, TF2… I can't even start to list them all here. When it comes to consoles, I don't play. I’ve never owned a console in my life. I have always been an avid PC gamer.

Favourite car/driving scene in a movie?

I have always loved the Aston Martins in the James Bond Films, particularly the car chase with the black Alfa Romeo and the Aston in The Quantum of Solace.

What song or music do you rock out to while playing NFSW?

Ahh, my second passion. I love all kinds of music but my favorite is ambient and electronica. I love Falling Up in particular. I also enjoy bands like And Then There Were None, Anberlin, Abandon, Red, Demonhunter, Imogen Heap and a few others.

When you’re not playing NFSW, what else are you up to?

I'm a full-time college student, so any time not spent playing NFSW is usually spent studying. I do love to sing and play the piano when the mood strikes me. Another thing I love to do is archery. I have a couple of bows and I love to spend an afternoon shooting.

X-Men or Watchmen?

X-men all the way!

Featured Story

Breaking Ground in Tier 1!

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:19:05 GMT

The Solstice GXP brought the Pontiac brand into a new segment of the market at the Detroit auto show in 2005. GM Pioneer Bob Lutz moved bureaucratic mountains to get the Solstice GXP concept built in an impossibly short four months.

The Solstice GXP is powered by a 260hp turbocharged engine that car true enthusiasts will love. A dual-scroll turbocharger outfitted with a lightweight turbine provides almost instant power, perfect for getting that jump off the starting-grid!

This Tier 1 certainly delivers and will challenge the best in class. Go to the Car Dealer today and experience sport suspension today!

Featured Story

The AWD Retro Racer Returns!

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:29:44 GMT

The race-spec Delta HF Integrale dominated the World Rally Championship, finishing atop the podium 46 times between 1987-92 and taking the Constructors’ Championship in each of those years. How did they accomplish such an amazing feat? An amazing four-wheel drive system powered by a turbocharged engine surely helped!

This custom “Rally” version demonstrates the joy of playing in the mud. It also features a cool tri-color stripe which shows-off its Italian roots, while the rest of its livery symbolizes its glory days. Featuring a widened track and body work, this Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione is an AWD terror in the mud and a pleasure on the track.

This is how any self-respecting pure rally car would choose to dress, covered in mud! Don’t delay, get yours in the Car Dealer today!