The Energizer Lithium Extender Pack which contains two new tracks (Leipzig Test Track, Tokyo Expressway) and two new cars (Plymouth Road Runner, Seat Leon Cupra) is now available for free on the PlayStation network.
Now we all know NFS is already making NFS12. This is undisputed. We however do not know which direction the game is going. According to a Small section in a fiscal blog at gamespot (link below), they had stated quite specifically that the game will be going towards its old roots, but once again with a new twist.
Quoted from Gamespot news
[... EA Games president] Frank Gibeau also mentioned the next installment in another of EA's racing franchises, Need for Speed. While a new Need for Speed in development isn't surprising (the franchise has been annualized since 2002's Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2), Gibeau did give the analysts an early look at the direction EA would be taking with the next installment of the series.
Noting that sales of last year's Need for Speed ProStreet didn't live up to EA's hopes for the game, Gibeau said he thinks it was because the series drifted too far from what consumers expected. ProStreet had dropped the tuner culture and police evasion aspects of previous installments in favor of perfectly legit closed track racing. For the next Need for Speed, Gibeau promised that the series would be getting back to its roots with a number of features, including open-world racing and a new highway battle mode.
The funny thing, is that TUNERS ARE NOT the roots of Need For Speed.
However, the police have always been a welcome addition to any NFS.
Ok, Before you jump to conclusions thinking this is the next NFS already announced, read up.
Compete at the highest level of street racing with Need for Speed ProStreet. It's no longer good enough to simply rule your local neighborhood, you need to dominate on a global stage. In this exclusive demo, choose between the Porsche 911 GT2 and 911 GT3RS. Pit your skills and reputation against the world's best street racers on Porsche's very own Certified Test Track in Leipzig, Germany. Every dent, every scratch and every crumpled body panel is a battle scar, proof of your commitment and competitive mettle. This is your chance to prove that you have what it takes to be crowned the next Street King. Need for Speed ProStreet is the realization of the raw power, visceral aggression and intense rivalry that embodies street racing culture.
Get ready to really put your competitive mettle to the pedal starting January 11, 2008, with a LIVE Race Weekend, a special Xbox LIVE event dedicated to Need for Speed ProStreet! The weekend’s activities are exclusive to Xbox 360 gamers and include: a Xbox LIVE Leaderboard tournament to crown a champion on the newly released Leipzig Test Track*, a 72-hour Play & Win Sweepstakes where a prize is won every hour, a multiplayer showdown that pits gamers against the developers of ProStreet, an opportunity to challenge the PMS clan, and a chance at even more exclusive content. The schedule of events is as follows:
Play & Win Sweepstakes: Friday, January 11th, 12:01am PST – Sunday, January 13th, 11:59pm PST (All Weekend)
Game with the ProStreet Dev Team: Friday January 11th, 2:00 – 6:00 pm PST
Play with the PMS Clan: Saturday, January 12th, 6:00 – 8:00pm PST
Leaderboard tournament: Sunday, January 13th, 12:01am – 11:59pm PST
For more details on Need for Speed ProStreet LIVE Race Weekend visit http://www.xbox.com/prostreetlive. For information on how to register and for terms and conditions, visit http://www.xbox.com/nfsreg/. Registration is now open and will end at 11:59pm (ET) on January 13, 2008.
*note : Track may be subject to change.
Sorry PS3, and PC users, but this is XBL only.
*Update
Heres a quick update on the Need for Speed ProStreet Xbox LIVE Race Weekend coming up starting tomorrow!
Since the Energizer Extender Pack (aka Booster Pack) wont be going live in time, we have changed the track to Portland Race Way (Festival Grip Circuit). Below are the full details on how to get the proper track and you go here for more details as well: XBox Details
Enter Race Day from the Main Menu
Navigate to the Battle Machine Org Body
Select Portland International Raceway track
Select your vehicle for the grip race. For this Tournament, only scores posted using the vehicles listed below will be allowed to participate. Any player who is found to be competing using any other vehicles will be automatically disqualified from this Tournament.
Dodge Charger R/T
Toyota Corolla GTS (AE86)
Mazda RX-8
Mitsubishi Eclipse
Infinity G35 (V35)
Pontiac GTO
Chevrolet Chevelle SS
Select the FIRST Grip race (Festival Circuit) listed in the Race Events menu.
You can view the Leaderboard from the Portland Race Day menu (select “Leaderboards”) or by selecting Leaderboards from the game Main Menu (select Leaderboards > Race Day). Press Y to change the filter to Daily and X to see all users (not just your friends list)
EA would like to wish you a happy holidays by inviting you to participate in a Holiday Raceday.
The event will start at 1:00am PST and end on December 26th at 1:00am.
The event is held at the Nevada Desert, so Bring out your Speed Cars and drive safely.
You only have 5 repair markers, and we all know how hungry Nevada is for a few more wrecks to add to its junkyard.
Once again "NFSPlanet" gets news to us before anyone else.
The PC Patch has finally been released. ((Xbox Booster Pack Unknown Dont ask))
The announced patch for Need for Speed ProStreet was finally released today. There are no release-notes yet, but according to earlier statements from EA, it should contain several bug fixes and the long awaited LAN-mode.
With more than 200 MB it's a quite big patch, which you can download from the EA server on the following page. The files will be available on our servers soon.
Please note the difference between the DVD- and the EA Store Version. Most of you will need the DVD-patch, in case you own the DVD.
Update:
The patch contains the Booster Pack, which is presented as a christmas present from EA and Coke Zero for all gamers. The Booster Pack contains two new tracks, new events, and an extended career mode. So you can find there the new cars 2007 SEAT Leon Cupra and 1969 Plymouth Road Runner, as well as the certified Porsche test track in Leipzig and the Tokyo Expressway in Japan.
Minor clip of release notes:
This patch adds LAN (Local Area Network) play to the PC version of Need for Speed ProStreet.
LAN Play Overview:
This patch introduces multiplayer game play in a standalone LAN environment. Up to 32 games of 2-8 players per game are supported. The patch has two components:
- Updated ProStreet game client
- New ProStreet LAN Server
IMPORTANT:
- ProStreet PC LAN Game Server is a separate application that must be started before attempting to use LAN Play.
- Run one server only per LAN. Only one ProStreet PC LAN Game Server is required per LAN. Each server can host up to 32 games.
Now that NFS ProStreet has been released, Electronic Arts will be adding content to the game.
A Booster Pack will be released in mid December (no exact date mentioned), which adds 2 new tracks and 16 new cars to the game - and the best thing is: the download is free!
The Booster Pack contains two new tracks, the Tokyo Speedway and the Porsche Test Tracks in Leipzig, Germany. As well, this package contains 16 new cars from 13 manufacturers. Among them you'll find the Audi R8, Aston Martin DBR9, Koenigsegg CCX, Plymouth Road Runner, SEAT Leon Cupra, McLaren F1, Honda S2000 and of course the Bugatti Veyron 16.4, which is making its video game debut in Need for Speed ProStreet.
The Booster packs should be available in mid December on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, PLAYSTATION STORE, and the EA Store.
In this short video John Doyle, Producer of NFS ProStreet presents the new Booster pack and some information about them.
