Need For Speed: Heat has set a new record for the storied franchise with more players playing this installment during launch week than any other on this generation of consoles.
It would seem as if a lot of players grabbed Heat hoping it would be the callback to NFS days of old. Some may have purchased the game because they enjoy each and every installment in the NFS timeline. According to WCCFTech, NFS: Heat had more concurrent players during launch week than any of the series' other releases on this generation of consoles.
Considering we are fast approaching the end of this console generation, that's even more impressive than it sounds. In fact, since Sony and Microsoft's new consoles are slated for 2020 releases, Heat could be the final NFS game released on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. There have been five in total, dating back to NFS Rivals (which was released on both the old and new generation of consoles).
There's a chance that the next NFS game will follow suit in that regard. Even though the next generation of consoles will hit store shelves about a year from now, the next NFS game likely won't be released until a year after that. We could still be in a transition period at that point. Fingers crossed it is more like NFS Most Wanted (the original), and less like NFS Payback.
Need For Speed: Heat has been on the market for almost two weeks and it feels as if the hype surrounding the launch has already died down. The reason for the hype dying down so quickly might be due to the fact that many believe NFS is a franchise living off of its former glories. NFS is a racing franchise rooted in history dating all the way back to the mid-1990s to when many gamers were still children.
The successes enjoyed by those releases were due to how original Need for Speed was at the time. It's hard to make lightning strike multiple times, though fans haven't given up hope. Heat may not be the pinnacle, but it's good enough for now.
Source: WCCFTech