Mon, Apr 27, 2009 | 09:39 BST
Need for Speed: Shift like Gran Turismo? Nope: we want our game to be fun
Need for Speed: Shift is obviously gunning for realism. You’d kind of expect the Slightly Mad title, then, to have Gran Turismo in its sights. Apparently not. Shift is going to be about “fun,” not “driving in a straight line,” producer Jesse Abney told VG247 in London last week.
“We don’t pretend to compete with Gran Turismo for technological achievement as well as what I would call a ‘driving simulator’,” said the developer. “That’s not the fun angle we’re going after.”
“We’re going after… what it means to be in a race, in a grid of hard competitors who will battle for position, and who will make the organic nature of the race more about performing at that level and less about the challenge of driving in a straight line.”
Despite wanting to offer something different to GT, however, Abney said Shift is paying close attention to Polyphony’s work.
“For us we look at games like GT, Forza 2 and GRiD as the high water mark,” he added.
Shift ships this autumn for PS3, 360, PC and PSP.
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Posted in: EA, Hot, PC, PS3, PSP, Racing, Xbox 360
Tags: gran turismo, Jesse Abney, Need for Speed: Shift, Slightly Mad
12 comments
#1
Blerk
27/04/09, 9:32 am
Handbags at dawn!
#2
G1GAHURTZ
27/04/09, 9:40 am
Unrealistic but fun gameplay > Realistic gameplay.
#3
Psychotext
27/04/09, 9:46 am
Claws out. lol
#4
Johnny Cullen
27/04/09, 9:47 am
If they can make the graphics great (which so far, it does), but have a great and fun gameplay mechanic in there, this will be a winner for sure.
Anyways, is this the Need for Speed game been done by DICE’s Patrick Soderland? Or is that the “secret” NFS game?
#5
Harry
27/04/09, 9:52 am
It’s starting to sound a lot like GRID but with decent handling.
Which is a very good thing.
#6
Patrick Garratt
27/04/09, 10:21 am
It looked wicked, tbh.
Yeah, Soderland’s working on it.
#7
Michael O'Connor
27/04/09, 10:36 am
Nice sensationalist and entirely out of context headline you got going for this article.
#8
G1GAHURTZ
27/04/09, 10:37 am
Shatner has mind melded with Mike.
#9
Patrick Garratt
27/04/09, 10:46 am
That was quick. I haven’t even had my second cup of coffee yet.
#10
lelik
28/04/09, 3:10 am
i’ll take GT thanks. you fools clearly don’t know your racing games. FUCK FUN.
and o’connor is totally right. mad props fatty.
#11
Michael O'Connor
28/04/09, 3:44 am
Fatty?
#12
mykem
28/04/09, 4:54 am
EA needs to hire someone with better knowedge of the racing genre. Ultimately, the same people that enjoy GT are the same one that would probably end up buying SHIFT. If I were EA, I would tread carefully so as to not alienate these GT fans.