NFS World Starter Pack FAQ

Submitted by Drew Hahn on Thu, 2010-06-03 14:16

Since we announced the Need for Speed World Starter Pack, we received a lot of questions from the community about it. Hopefully, this FAQ will answer all of your questions and clear up any misunderstandings.

What is the Starter Pack?
Need for Speed World is a free-to-play online racing MMO. You can download, install, and play the game for as long as you'd like without spending any money. Once you reach driver level 10, you'll be able to continue playing for free but you won't keep progressing. In order to progress past level 10, players must purchase the Starter Pack, which also includes the following items:
- $20 USD worth of SpeedBoost (this is virtual currency you can spend as you like in the game)
- bundle of Power-Ups (available to all newly-created drivers in an account)
- one exclusive vehicle (available to all newly-created drivers in an account)

Players who purchase the Starter Pack will not have an unfair advantage over those playing for free.
Our mission with Need for Speed World is to offer a large variety of playing styles for players who choose to pay as well as those playing for free. The experience of both groups of players must be fair and, above all, fun! We will never introduce a mechanic that provides a distinct advantage for those who purchase. Further, the matchmaking system in Beta 6 is intended to match players into races against opponents with similar skills and cars. This philosophy applies across the whole game, and it's our mission to continually improve and evolve the experience with you as our primary source of input.

The term Starter Pack implies that this is the first of many packs that we'll have to buy. Is that the case?
No, the Starter Pack is a one-time purchase and once purchased, you will not need to spend any more money. We will support Need for Speed World with regular free content updates, available to all players.

If I choose not buy this pack, what's left for me to do after I reach driver level 10
There will be lots to do in Need for Speed World for players who have not purchased the Starter Pack. Continue racing with your friends and/or anyone else playing the game, customize your cars, participate in community events for the chance to win prizes, etc. We invite you to play the game free for as long as you like from launch until we can either convince you with awesomeness or you give up on us. We'll keep tuning the experience and adding new ways to play based on your feedback.

What do I get if I pre-order the Starter Pack?
In addition to the item you receive as part of the Starter Pack (see above), you'll also receive:
- guaranteed access to the remaining betas
- a one-week head-start (July 13-19) on playing Need for Speed World before it goes live with increased XP rewards
- the ability to reserve your driver name before anyone else does
- VIP status on display in your driver profile
- depending on which retailer you pre-order from, you'll receive an exclusive car:
     - Speedhunters Edition Toyota Corolla AE86, exclusively from the EA Store and EA Store UK
     - Speedhunters Edition Nissan Silvia S15 from Direct2Drive and Direct2Drive UK
     - Limited Edition Volkswagen Scirocco from GameStop and Gamesload Germany
     - Special Edition Mazda MazdaSpeed3 from Best Buy, Impulse, Metaboli UK, Nexway UK, and GamersGate UK

How much does the Starter Pack cost?
The Starter Pack costs $19.99 USD, 14.99 GBP, 199 SEK, or 19.99 EUR depending on where you live. Again, it's a one-time purchase and you get a lot more than $20 worth of goods in the pack.

Where do I pre-order the Starter Pack?
The Starter Pack is available as a digital purchase from the EA Store and the retailers listed below:

Europe:
- EA Store
- Direct 2 Drive
- GAME UK
- Metaboli UK
- Nexway UK
- GamersGate UK
- Gamesload Germany

North America:
- EA Store
- Direct2Drive
- GameStop
- Best Buy
- Impulse

Will I be able to buy the Starter Pack in stores?
Currently, the Starter Pack is only available as a digital purchase.

How can I pay for the Starter Pack?
Please check with each digital retail partner to find out more about their respective payment options.

How long do I have to pre-order the Starter Pack?
The pre-order offer expires July 19th, 2010, so if you are interested, do it soon.

I don't live in North America or Europe. Can I still pre-order the Starter Pack?
Need for Speed World will be available in the English and German languages at launch and will only be offered by participating digital retailers in territories that support those languages. The client will be available as a free download for anyone via world.needforspeed.com.

Hopefully this FAQ has answered all your questions. If you have anything else you'd like to ask us, please feel free to email me.

• Drew Hahn's blog
• Reply: Login | Register