Since it’s launch in 1994, the Need for Speed franchise has sold more than 100 million copies, which feels like a noteworth achievement. I have no idea what the lifetime sales are for other franchises, but 100 million feels like a good time to pop the champagne cork. And if you like trivial trivia, here are some facts that EA has unearthed:

• Players have raced over 279 billion miles of roads & race tracks
• Generated over 17 trillion user-generated vehicle customizations
• Featured actors, models & musicians including: Brooke Burke (Wild On), Christina Milian (Ghosts of Girlfriends Past), Emmanuelle Vaugier (Two and a Half Men), Josie Maran (Sports Illustrated swimsuit model and actress), Maggie Q (Mission: Impossible III), Kanye West, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Prodigy
• Sold more games than all new passenger cars sales in the U.S since 1994
• If Need for Speed boxes were laid out end-to-end, it would span 173,609 football fields
• 100M units represents nearly every household in the United States and is 3x the population of Canada

After wallowing for a few years in the “Not so Fast, Not so Furious” mire, and being lapped by numerous other racing franchises, Need for Speed has been rebooted this year with three distinct products. The more sim-oriented Need for Speed Shift has already been released for the PS3 and 360, while the purely arcady Need for Speed Nitro is coming for the Wii and DS.

Most intriguing to me is Need for Speed World Online that is beta testing in Taiwan this year, and going global in Fall 2010. Going the “free with micro-transactions” route seems like the way of the future (EA has already announced a Tiger Woods online game, and this model probably saved Dungeons and Dragons Online from disappearing). Wonder if we might see an XBox 360 or PSN version at some point.

So, in summary, congratulations Need for Speed. You were good, then you were mediocre, now hopefully you can be good again.