We just saw Criterion's creative director Craig Sullivan at the launch for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit a few weeks ago, and so when he showed up on this weekend's VGAs red carpet, we congratulated him on the game and its addictive Autolog feature. "It's been phenomenal," he agreed. "It does change the way people play. People are playing the same event ten, fifteen, fifty times, and you don't get that in racing games. It's a very big deal for us and we're really glad that people are embracing it and having fun."

The social service doesn't do what most implementations have so far done and share stats out to Twitter or Facebook. Instead, it keeps the sharing inside the game, and Sullivan says that's the way Criterion designed it. "You get information about Need for Speed when you're playing Need for Speed," he says. "That was really key to us." Criterion is also seeing in-game comments used more than expected, though it "usually degenerates into a load of swearing."

As for what's next, Sullivan says DLC is the current focus, though Criterion wouldn't mind making either another Need for Speed or Burnout title, or any other genre for that matter. "We made Black before, and everybody wants us to make Black 2. As long as it's fun and it suits the strengths of the studio, we're interested in making any kind of game. We always joke and say we'll make a game about jelly, or make a game about horses, or tennis or whatever it is. If it fun and it fits with what Criterion stands for, then we'll pretty much make anything."