NFS Shift 2: "We won't add 1000 irrelevant cars", says lead designer

Andy Tudor, the lease designer behind Need for Speed: Shift 2 - Unleashed, has promised the game will be all about racing instead of car collecting.

Speaking in an interview with Eurogamer, Tudor said the fun in racing games is "behind the wheel" not grinding for cash to buy another car.

"[Gran Turismo and Forza] are on pedestals at the moment. When we're thinking about what we want to do in this game, it's not a numbers game," said Tudor. "We're not going to add a thousand irrelevant cars. Both those games, to me, are almost like encyclopedias. You've got a thousand cars, a thousand tracks, whatever, and basically the game is about earning cash to get another car, earning cash to get another car. It's like a grind. It's almost like stamp collecting.

"That's not where the fun is. The fun is behind the wheel, feeling you're on the edge, pushing it to the limit, putting in the cars that are relevant and cool to drive, allowing you to completely customize those from factory to the works level we had in Shift 1, and giving you the chance to then play against your friends in a social way. Taking Autolog, which is present in Hot Pursuit, to the next level, adding more features and making the core gameplay really fun as opposed to just adding five variations of the 1986 Toyota Corolla or something like that."

According to Tudor, most players only have around 10-15 cars in their virtual garages anyway, tending to go for cars similar to the ones they own in real life. Tudor said the developers have also found that most players just get a car from each tier or category, and then pick a dream car like a Lamborghini or a Porsche.

"Then, generally, people fill out the rest with cars they want to try out, like a Dodge Challenger, that they may not have access to," he said. "So people have 10-15 cars anyway. They certainly don't fill their garage up with every single car there is in the game – all 500 of them.

"It's a different way of thinking, basically. We want to take those guys on. We want to make a more authentic experience. We've put in a new elite handling model and given you more access over deadzone, sensitivity, steering aids, break assists, all that kind of stuff, to allow you to dial in the experience you want. We all come from different backgrounds. You may love muscle cars and might think Burnout is the best game in the world. I may like Japanese tuner cars, and may think Hot Pursuit is the best game in the world.

"We have very different views on racing, so we want to make sure everyone is able to get the experience they want from it."

Shift 2: Unleashed, which will provide an innovative helmet camera view, will release in spring 2011 for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

The first previews for the game hit earlier in the week.