Every year (and every few months), EA shuts down online server support for a selection (and in same cases, an entire crop) of its games to make way for the support of future online-enabled titles, ostensibly to provide better features and support for the new blood.

Last year, the biggest shock was the discontinuation of server support for EA’s Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth strategy games, and this year the list of games set to be without official features includes games from the Battlefield, Need For Speed and Tiger Woods franchises, amongst others.

Here’s the message and new list of games from EA:

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Late last year EA revealed that Shift 2 Unleashed players would be able to get their hands on three exclusive cars if they pre-ordered the Limited Edition version of the game.

In addition to getting behind the wheel of the the Nissan Silvia spec.R Aero (S15), the Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV, and the Lamborghini Murciélago LP640, gamers who pre-order the Limited Edition would also get exclusive access to 40 career events. But before we talk more about these let’s see these cars in action shall we?

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A brand new trailer for EA and Slightly Mad Studio’s next Need For Speed game, SHIFT 2 Unleashed, has announced the release date for this arcade/realism hybrid racer, and includes some shockingly amazing in-game footage to get the Hype ‘o Meter revving.

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Two weeks ago EA announced that the next entry to the Need For Speed series is scheduled to launch in the middle of 2011, but curiously the official title for the sequel to Need For Speed: SHIFT omits the time-honoured franchise name.

Simply called SHIFT 2 Unleashed, this new racing title includes a host of refinements and wholesale improvements over the original arcade/realism hybrid, with the inclusion of a couple new features and an all-new graphics engine.

You can have a look at how this new engine is shaping up with the first ever set of SHIFT 2 Unleashed screenshots below:

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EA has just gone and announced that a sequel to last year’s excellent Need For Speed: SHIFT is currently in development at racing game specialists Slightly Mad Studios, and is scheduled to release in the ‘Spring’ of 2011.

Simply entitled SHIFT 2 Unleashed, this next entry to the Need For Speed franchise has some mighty big shoes to fill, as the previous SHIFT title went on to sell almost five million copies worldwide, and as El33tonline’s review of that game will tell you, it successfully delivered an awesome, visceral racing experience that was equal parts simulation and arcade game.

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When you woke up today, was there an inexplicable feeling in the pit of your stomach? A hunger that you just couldn’t place? A mysterious malaise in search of a cure?

When you dragged yourself out of bed this morning, was there a chance you felt the Need For Speed… World open beta?

It’s a good thing that you did (shush if you didn’t) because EA has announced that the five day long Need For Speed World open beta begins today.

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The Need For Speed franchise is heading into the permanent online realm with the launch of the first Need For Speed World closed beta for PC, which is the first of many beta tests that will take place over the next few months.

EA is calling on fans to apply to participate in this and other closed beta tests in the future, which will give players “an insider’s look at this hotly anticipated racing MMO.” Constructive feedback from participants will apparently go “straight back to the development team to help add polish, finesse and tuning to the final product.”

You can apply to participate at the official Need For Speed website over here.

While you’re waiting to be accepted, you can browse through the newly released screenshots, and watch an impressive trailer for Need For Speed World, below:

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EA announced late yesterday that their long-running Need For Speed racing franchise recently passed the 100 million (!) units sold mark, placing it in a pretty exclusive club and generating $2.7 billion in life-to-date sales, making it the best selling racing brand in the gaming world.

President of the EA Games Label, Frank Gibeau, said of the achievement: “Few videogame franchises ever reach the 100M units mark, so this is a huge honor. We have millions of fans to thank for driving us to this milestone.

“With the launch of Need for Speed SHIFT and the upcoming release of Need for Speed NITRO, we hope to continue to deliver the most entertaining, action-packed racing experiences.”

Since the release of the original Need For Speed on the 3DO in 1994, the franchise has racked up quite a few impressive statistics, including the following:

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EA have announced plans to release three different versions of their waning-in-popularity street racer, Need for Speed, for this year’s iteration, with a particular focus on the casual market.

The first announced title, Need for Speed: Shift, is to be released on PC, Xbox 360, PS3 and PSP, and will be a much more hardcore racing simulation game, as veterans of that genre aid and oversee development of the title, including Ian Bell, co-founder of SimBin, the studio who created GTR 2 and GT Legends, both of which were heavy on the simulation, rather than arcade style racing.

The second announced title is Need for Speed: Nitro to be released on the Wii and DS. Not much else is known about this game, other than it is said to have a unique visual style, and can probably be assumed to target casual players.

The third Need for Speed title is Need for Speed: World Online, a free-to-play racer in development at EA’s Black Box and EA Singapore, which will target the Asian market primarily, releasing there in the summer, while a North American release will follow in the winter.

Despite the news that EA’s Black Box will see redundancies, the studio is still seemingly working at full tilt, as a marketing executive at EA, Keith Munro, confirms a fourth Need for Speed title on the way:

“Black Box is currently working on a future action title in the franchise. This isn’t about quantity, this is about crafting different games for different audiences and their unique tastes in the driving category.”

Look forward to an all new Need for Speed later this year.