GamingPickz

Need for Speed: Nitro

Catalogue entry · not reviewed

Need for Speed: Nitro is a 2009 racing video game and the fourteenth title in the Need for Speed series. It was published by Electronic Arts for the Nintendo Wii and DS platforms. The Wii version was developed by EA Montreal, who have previous experience with Nintendo consoles, while the DS version was developed separately by Firebrand Games' Florida studio.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA, read 5 September 2026.

Racing

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Would you recommend it?
Released
2009
Developer
Firebrand Games
Platforms
2 systems
Critics
Not scored
Steam Deck
Unknown
Download
Not stated
We have not written a full review of this game.This is a catalogue entry: everything below comes from a source we can link, checked on a stated date. There is no score and no verdict here, because we only publish those after a reviewer has played the game and written it up properly. Our team may well have played this one. Until someone writes the review, we are not going to imply a verdict we have not put our name to.

The record

Catalogue facts
First released3 November 2009
DeveloperFirebrand Games
PublisherElectronic Arts
PlatformsNintendo Wii, Nintendo DS
GenresRacing

Source. Catalogue facts from Wikidata Q1313322, seeded 30 August 2026.

How long is Need for Speed: Nitro? How long to beat it

Total play time for Need for Speed: Nitro is about 15.6 hours to do everything, and around 8.4 hours to reach the end of the main story. These are player-submitted times from HowLongToBeat, not our own, shown with the number of players behind each.

Need for Speed: Nitro length by how much you play
How you playHoursPlayers logged
Just the main story: straight through the critical path8.4h8
Main + the extras: story plus the side content most people do10h2
Completionist: everything: 100% the game15.6h1

Source: HowLongToBeat community submissions, read 2026-10-19.

Where Need for Speed: Nitro sits on the grid

The grid places every game in the catalogue on measured axes rather than on an opinion. This is where Need for Speed: Nitro lands on each map it has the data for, with the share of the catalogue it beats on each axis.

The whole catalogueRecent and quiet
Year
73ahead of 26% of the catalogue
Reach
43ahead of 83% of the catalogue

Percentiles are against the games that carry a reading on that axis, not the whole catalogue: counting a game with no figure as a zero would flatter everything that has one. How the grid works.

What readers say about Need for Speed: Nitro

Reviews written by people who have played it. These are separate from the GamingPickz Score and are never averaged into it: that score comes from thousands of Steam reviews with a sample-size correction, and a handful of unverified ratings would distort it rather than improve it.

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Where Need for Speed: Nitro appears

The ranked lists and finder pages Need for Speed: Nitro qualifies for, from its own genre and platform to what it takes to run.

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Part of the Need for Speed series

Need for Speed: Nitro is one of 21 Need for Speed games we track. See the whole series ranked by the GamingPickz Score, plotted on the grid, and listed in release order:

Every Need for Speed game, ranked

Need for Speed: Nitro head to head

See Need for Speed: Nitro compared side by side, on score, price, specs and more:

Need for Speed: Nitro vs Need for Speed IIScores, price and specs side by sideNeed for Speed: Nitro vs Need for Speed III: Hot PursuitScores, price and specs side by sideNeed for Speed: Nitro vs Need for Speed: High StakesScores, price and specs side by sideNeed for Speed: Nitro vs Need for Speed: Porsche UnleashedScores, price and specs side by sideNeed for Speed: Nitro vs Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2Scores, price and specs side by sideNeed for Speed: Nitro vs Need for Speed: UndergroundScores, price and specs side by sideNeed for Speed: Nitro vs Need for Speed: Underground 2Scores, price and specs side by sideNeed for Speed: Nitro vs Need for Speed: CarbonScores, price and specs side by side

More Need for Speed: Nitro comparisons: vs Need for Speed: ProStreet, vs Need for Speed Undercover, vs Need for Speed: Shift, vs Need for Speed: The Run, vs Need for Speed Rivals, vs Need for Speed: No Limits, vs Need for Speed Payback, vs Need for Speed Heat, vs Need for Speed, vs Need for Speed Most Wanted, vs Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered, vs Need for Speed Unbound

Common questions about Need for Speed: Nitro

What platforms is Need for Speed: Nitro on?

Need for Speed: Nitro is available on Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS. It first released in 2009.

Who made Need for Speed: Nitro?

Need for Speed: Nitro was developed by Firebrand Games and published by Electronic Arts.

How long does it take to beat Need for Speed: Nitro?

about 8.4 hours for the main story, 10 hours with the main extras, 15.6 hours to complete everything, from HowLongToBeat's player-submitted times. These are community medians, so your own run may be shorter or longer.