In an interview with Gamespot, EA's VP of marketing talks about three new titles in the Need for Speed series. All three of them are quite a departure from the series roots.

 Need for Speed: Nitro(Wii, DS) - Nitro will only be on the Nintendo consoles and will feature a "unique visual style". EA promises that Nitro will use the unique controls of both the Wii and the DS to their full potential and will not fall into the trap of making a "Need for Speed Lite". It will be developed EA Montreal, a studio that has a strong track record with games on Nintendo consoles.

Need for Speed: World Online(PC) - NFS: World Online is a free-to-play MMO racing game being jointly developed by Black Box and EA Shanghai.

Need for Speed: Shift(PS3, 360, PC, PSP) - EA says that Shift will be an authentic simulation racing game in the vein of Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport. Shift is being developed by a UK collaborative team that includes Slightly Mad Studios, a developer that worked on PC simulation racing games such as GT Legends and GTR 2.

Shift and Nitro are slated for a Fall 2009 release in North America, while Need for Speed: World Online will be out in Asia this Summer with a North American release scheduled for next Winter.

Need for Speed fans should be very happy to see that EA is at least trying something new with the franchise.