The Need for Speed series has now sold over 100 million units across its many iterations, says EA, not a little smugly...

Smug with good reason, that is. Set aside the frankly bewildering sales total, the franchise has generated enough cash to cancel out several third world debts – $2.7 billion so far, to be precise. It barely needs mentioning that NFS has become the best-selling racing brand in the world and is thus a fully-fledged pop culture phenomenon. But EA does so anyway.

“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,” says EA Games Label president, Frank Gibeau, quippingly and by way of introducing a further list of stunning facts and figures pertaining to all things Needy and Speedy. Here we go, then:

The Need for Speed franchise has…

• Launched 15 blockbuster titles across more than 14 platforms
• Released in 22 languages in over 60 countries
• 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
• Debuted exclusive remix from Snoop Dogg of The Door’s classic song Riders on the Storm
• 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

Yup, all of that and nary a mention of the Moon or the Albert Hall. Either way, it’s safe to say that the Need for Speed series has done a bit better than okay during its 15 year lifespan. No doubt the obscene wealth generated will be most welcome for an outfit as threadbare and cash-strapped as Electronic Arts too.

And the streetracing fun shows no sign of abating any time soon. Need for Speed: Shift continues to ride high in the games charts (this week’s six), Need for Speed: Nitro is prepping for launch on Wii and DS in time for Xmas and Need for Speed World Online starts beta testing in the Far East for a global launch this time next year.

Just watch the 200 million milestone crumble if EA keeps this pace up.