‘Need For Speed’ Official Twitter Account Issues Half-Hearted Apology After Telling Fans Unhappy With Early Access Being Locked Behind Pre-Orders To “Cry About It”

Street racers look defiant in reveal trailer for Need for Speed Unbound via Need for Speed, YouTube

The official Need for Speed Twitter account has issued a half-hearted apology after arguing with a fan over pre-orders of Need for Speed Unbound offering three days Early Access.

A street racer leaves graffiti-style debris behind them, including a speaker-system and a shopping cart via Need for Speed Unbound (2022), Electronic Arts

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The spat began after the official Need for Speed Twitter account announced pre-ordering Need for Speed Unbound: Palace Edition would get them three days Early Access. While claiming “You asked and we listened,” not everyone was happy with the announcement.

“Hold on – what did we ask for and what did you listen to, exactly?” @KyloZen0 retorted. “To pay more to get 3 days early access?” The Need for Speed account replied “Gameplay Video…?,” referring to the accompanying trailer being what was asked for, adding, “3 Day Early Access was always there, reading is fundamental.”

That last comment started the argument proper. “Ah right – charging extra to your loyal fan base to play 3 days early isn’t really cool and a bit exploitative, customer relations is fundamental,” @KyoZen0 snarked back. The official Need for Speed Twitter account replied with the insult “Milkshake brain.”

[Archive link] Twitter user KyloZen0 argues pre-ordering for Early Access is exploitative, while the official Need for Speed account calls them "Milkshake brain" via TwitterRELATED: Nintendo Backtracks On Claim They Didn’t Hear Of Performance Issues In ‘Pokémon Scarlet & Violet’ And Releases Much-Needed Patch

The playground insults continued. “Milkshake company,” @KyloZen0 replied. “Cry about it bro,” Need for Speed struck back, along with a shrugging emoji, “or buy regular price idc [I don’t care].”

[Archive link] Twitter user KyloZen0 insults the official Need for Speed back, only to be told to "cry about it" and buy Need for Speed Unbound at the normal price via Twitter“I was going to buy your game on release day, but due to the admin of this account – you’ve lost a sale,” KyloZen0 stated. “Well done, stay edgy and keep being relevant for the 12 year olds. You ain’t half as cool as you think chief. You’re an EMBARASSMENT [sic] and unprofessional.”

“I’m not reading all that, sorry that happened to you or congratulations,” mocked the official Need for Speed account. The reply is almost a direct quote of a meme with the same sentiment.

[Archive link] Twitter user KyloZen0 states he will not buy Need for Speed Unbound after the insulting behavior of the series' account, only for it to reply with mockery via TwitterRELATED: Composer Mick Gordon Claims Bethesda Offered Him “Six Figures” To Take Blame On ‘DOOM Eternal’ OST; Developer Denies Allegations

The tweets from the official Need for Speed account have since been deleted — to the surprise of absolutely no one — and just a few days later they offered a half-hearted apology.

“We admit we got a bit caught up in the hype for launch and some of our recent social media replies crossed the line,” @NeedforSpeed admitted. “To those fans we upset, we apologize. We will do better. See you here next week.”

The official Need for Speed Twitter account apologizes for its behavior via Twitter

Other Twitter users discussed whether the apology was sufficient, if @KyloZen0’s comments were justified, or if the Need for Speed account’s manager needed to be further reprimanded. The scenario reminded YouTuber Vara Dark in her video of when the Saints Row official Twitter account mocked former fans who were far more critical of the then upcoming reboot.

Nonetheless, Vara notes one major difference between this and the Saints Row situation. “The Saints Row reboot account never apologized to critics, they never apologized for going at people and attacking us, they simply played it off like ‘hey, we don’t need you as our customers,’ and in this case they are apologizing, so I do give them credit for that.”

A street racer peels out with graffiti-style smoke behind him, and a fist tightly grabbing money above via Need for Speed Unbound (2022), Electronic Arts

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