Completely agree. I don’t like most rap or hip hop that I’ve heard (going back decades), to the point that I’d rather just avoid those genres altogether. Most driving games that I’ve come across (except Burnout Paradise, notably) insist on shoving as much of it as possible into their soundtracks. It’s a shame.
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When I was younger and was more of a music elitist, I honestly avoided Need For Speed because of the impression they gave off with their music and just themeing.
Now I like more music and also find these games charmingly old school now. I’m getting so old the mid 2000s are nostalgic and retro and that’s sad.
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That’s very true. It’s like 80’s pop music, it might not be appreciated by people of that era, at least not as many as today’s audiences. It’s alright, old games and music are still there. You can always listen to MW 2005’s pursuit music on streaming service when you’re playing Heat on modern consoles, no matter how unbearable the music from new games are.
By the way, Freezer. There’s usually an EA Trax functionality in 2000s EA titles. It helps players making their own playlists, deciding where a song could be played or not played at all. Could you check if this function exists on the portable games you just got? That will be great if you mention it in your videos. Thank you!
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I’ll try to remember that.
I appreciate that functionality. As a kid I removed a lot of Tony Hawk music I didn’t like, and even though I’m not like that now, it’s still a great feature.
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I haven’t really been liking the soundtrack in Need for Speed Heat. It’s got a lot of Latin Hip-Hop, R&B and Trap music, which isn’t my kind of jam for street-racing.
So, I’ve completely turned it off and am using a “Miami Vibes” Spotify playlist in the background instead with more House Dance and Electronic music. Works a lot better as pulse-pounding tracks.
I also feel like I’ve accidentally locked myself out of the Crews feature. I accidentally left the Starter Crew and have had no luck finding others that are active to accept my request to join 
I’m sure one will come around and accept
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Yeah, I am not a fan of the selection of Heat’s music, either. It leaves an impression to me that its purpose is to make appeal to younger audiences, along with the clothing customization feature that first became available in the series with this game. But I guess I can withstand both music and fashion selection as long as there is Toro y Moi and Hawaiian shirt.
I haven’t left my starter crew, but I can’t let others join due to me not being the leader. Say, how about we start a crew together? I have already driven Ferrari FXX K Evo, the crew level 50 reward, so I feel like starting over again.
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I also wasn’t too big on the soundtrack in Heat. I don’t think it’s as bad as the generic rock music in Forza Motorsport 7 though. I wonder why they don’t have different radio stations for different styles of music like in Forza Horizon though.
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My guess is each entry of NFS has a set of themed soundtracks. They are usually tided to each game’s setting of location and time era. And within each games, soundtracks are categorized into different type of event/situation, like in menu, in garage, during race, and during pursuit, etc.
Besides the games’ settings, I’d imagine the musical department has to consider some factors to eventually create a list of soundtracks. They are:
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Target audiences: similar to car selection, everyone has their taste and preference on music and vehicles. Preferably, more options and varieties can interest more potential buyers, but that leads to the second factor.
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Budget: Licensing cost money. In racing games, cars, real world racetracks, and music all do. If soundtracks were cheap to include and maintain, we wouldn’t see songs removed from video games. Sadly, it happens all the time, like Burnout Paradise Remastered or GTA IV. Hell, it could be the main reason that FM7, the most recent entry from Motorsport series, was delisted from online store too.
Edit: the game was probably delisted because of cars or racetracks license. Rather than the composed soundtracks that I just learned about. -
Collaborating partners: It is possible that EA and many game developers have signed deals to record companies or artists. So it may limit their music choices. I enjoy Hospital Records a lot, and I feel that Forza is truly blessed with each Horizon entries from 2 onward having their songs. Their songs can be found in other games though, like this one in GT Sport:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC1q4q0DbV0
NFS, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to have obvious partnership with any company, though. But I would assume they have signed contracts too.
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This is most likely the reason, but what I find interesting is how little cars and songs there are in comparison to a game like Forza. I’m guessing they spend more money on longer contracts and less on the amount of cars/songs as opposed to more cars/songs but shorter contracts like Forza.
This is correct, every Forza game has contracts that last four years and then when they expire they put them on sale (or sometimes give them away for free) before delisting them. Usually the next game will be released before it’s delisted but that wasn’t the case with Motorsport 7.
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Well yeah, that sounds quite right, actually. That can explain how HP 2010 Remastered was released a year ago, but none of the original licensed songs was butchered, but with 3 cars removed instead.
You know, I thought about other reasons that Heat has a limited selection of songs. And I think it’s probably because of the “theme”, or rather “scope” of the game.
Soundtracks may not play the most important role in a racing game, but they certainly are major enough to leave strong impression and connection to players. Which is why most people still remember Underground 2 and get nostalgic when “Riders on the Storm” starts to play. Ever since Underground, the series has a strong emphasis on street racing subculture in most entries. Heat’s selection of music is probably a result of what the music department thought that would best suit the underground street racing scene of Miami, hence the emphasis on Latin and Trap genre.
Horizon has its own theme to include these many genres. It’s a representation of worldwide/international celebration of car and music. So just like its diverse car list, the music has many variations. Come to think of it, doesn’t it seem like the original 2012 Forza Horizon appears “regional” compared to later games? Its car list makes sense for a festival set in Colorado, so does its Electronica/Rock music. So naturally, Horizon can only expand on cars and music after the event took place around the world.
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Recently there’s been rumors about Criterion’s next entry to the series. I’ll put the news link here in case if some don’t like spoilers. 
Until then, hopefully we will get to see an official announcement soon!
To sum up a bit
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It will be set in a fictionalized Chicago called Lake Shore City.
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The UI bears some similarities to the 2019 NFS: Heat.
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It will have some anime elements that take inspiration from Initial D.
Reddit leak post:
Upscaled map:
I’ve been a NFS fan since the first one so I’m probably in, whatever it looks like, but this sounds (with the minimal detail provided) like it could be good. Being from Chicago originally, I’m always interested when it’s the setting for a game world.
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Ah it’s funny that you mentioned about games set in Chicago. If this comes true, it will be the third game in the series that features the city. Prostreet has an airfield that covers Chicago’s skyline in the background, while The Run has the city and a major set piece for its plot.
It’s even funnier that games of the 2010s era, such as The Run, Hitman: Absolution, and Watch Dogs all somehow have helicopter chase at night in Chicago! I guess you just can’t avoid the city’s famous mobsters or CPD in any way. We will see if the new game will have such sequence again. 
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Chicago is also a city that has somewhat unique elements with the “L”, Lower Wacker Drive, Lake Shore Drive and the overall skyline with the Sears (Willis) Tower and the Hancock Building so it’s iconic enough to lend itself to action set pieces. Heck, the Matrix was filmed there, and you don’t get more “action set piece” than that. Meigs Field isn’t there anymore (thanks Daley…) but for years and years it was the default staring location for MS Flight Simulator.
And yeah, Chicago is still famous for mobsters, a full 100 years after Al Capone. You can still go to places in Europe or Asia where all they know about Chicago seems to be Al Capone. It does give the city a certain organized crime vibe in the video game world though.
I remember playing The Run and thinking as I drove down the Kennedy, “Hey, that’s where I work”. It wasn’t photo realistic in terms of exact streets or anything, but it was close enough to pick out familiar stuff.
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Just a friendly reminder, we are 12 hours away from the official reveal of NFS: Unbound! In the meantime, check out some leaked info and images. The most noticeable thing must be its new direction of anime/comic like art style, but there’s some new and returning cars too. I am very excited about this! 
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I am excited about this. I know a lot of people get down on the Need For Speed games, but I’ve always liked them.
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I actually like the as realistic as possible car graphics mixed with the cartoon people in the images. No idea if cutscenes will work that way and if so, how, but it’s different and interesting. NFS has enough entries that they can be adventurous.
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Yeah it really adds some unique style to what normally would have been “realistic street racing game #21” or whatever. I half want to say “Spider-Verse style!” because of how cel-shaded and painterly this looks
It’ll definitely be a recognizable identity, something that harkens back to the wild Green-Screen days of Most Wanted 2005
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Oh shoot that was early. Anyway, the reveal trailer!
And the official website is active as well! What a day to have massive info of two of my favorite game series!
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Game will be released on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on December 2nd this year. You get to play earlier and trial it first if you own EA Play membership. I don’t care that much, but I better secure a new console fast!
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An interactive map for Lakeshore City can be accessed now! Click on icons to see places of interests! What fits the underground theme better than a car meet at lower Wacker Drive, right?
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There will be a singleplayer-driven story mode as well as a multiplayer mode. Rapper A$AP Rocky seems to be heavily involved in such story as well.
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New and returning cars like S14 Silvia and A$AP Rocky’s merc 190E are included. The list contains most of Heat’s vehicles, except Audi. Toyota seems to be once again absence because street racing is bad.
There will be more info coming soon! 
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