EA knows that it has a strong product in Need for Speed: Shift; one that might just turn the struggling franchise around. We may agree or disagree once we play it, but the publisher's confidence in the game is there for all to see. It's the kind of confidence we haven't seen in a Need for Speed game for quite a few years. But what's really encouraging to see is that even if Shift is a critical and commercial success, EA doesn't plan to milk it for all its worth by releasing a follow-up title next year.