We talked to Criterion vice president Alex Ward at E3, and he revealed that from now on Criterion will be in charge of the entire franchise. When asked whether he thought EA's original plan to release a Need for Speed title of some kind every year was watering down the series, Ward said, "Maybe it's been that way in the past, but that's changed this year with what we're doing Our stamp's going to be in everything you see in Need for Speed and Burnout going forward in the future. It's not going to be spread anymore across different companies. Different studios have had a crack at it - it's definitely a Criterion gig now.



"Going forward now, with Most Wanted and what we'll do in the future [will have], shall we say, a strong Criterion involvement," he explained. "I'm personally involved in how the cars drive, how the game will play out, how connected they are, and what the features are."