The Need for Speed

Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed (also known simply as The Need for Speed) is a 1994 racing game developed by EA Canada and Pioneer Productions and published by Electronic Arts for 3DO. Versions with additional tracks were released for MS-DOS (1995), PlayStation (1996), and Saturn (1996). The 1996 Windows release is subtitled SE (Special Edition). The Need for Speed allows driving eight licensed sports cars in three point-to-point tracks either with or without a computer controlled opponent. Checkpoints, traffic vehicles, and police pursuits appear in the races. Electronic Arts collaborated with automotive magazine Road & Track to match vehicle behaviour, including the mimicking of the sounds made by the vehicles' gear control levers. The game contains precise vehicle data with spoken commentary, several "magazine-style" images of each car's interior and exterior and short video clips highlighting the vehicles set to music. The game was a commercial success. Video game publications praised the incorporation of realism into the gameplay and graphics, as well as the inclusion of full-motion videos. It is the first game in the Need for Speed franchise, a sequel Need for Speed II was released in 1997.