Criterion Games has revealed plans for a video game titled: Need for Speed: Split Second were proposed to EA in 2002. Speaking in this month’s issue of GamesTM magazine, Craig Sullivan, designer at Criterion, revealed that after finishing Burnout 2, Criterion Games “were talking to EA Canada about doing a Need For Speed game, so we put together a pitch to do a stunt racing game called Need For Speed: Split Second.“
However, it appears EA weren’t willing to go through with the plans. Also speaking about the game, Criterion’s Alex Ward continued: “We called a meeting with the EA guys, told them we were walking away and they went mad, threatening to sue us, put us out of business… there was a lot of anger and frustration. Then we got a call from the Need For Speed guys and they said ‘we can’t work with you guys any more; you just walked away and there’s a shame on your company, so we can’t talk to you’. I remember coming back to my desk and there was a folder on my desktop called EA and I just clicked delete. We learned a lot about how a game should be made.“
Thankfully, things worked out well for Criterion Games who were later given a chance to develop a sequel to Burnout and the developer has been working on upcoming Need for Speed title: Hot Pursuit – racing into stores from the 19th November.
[Source:GamerZines]
