If Ubisoft knew what they were doing the game would easily have been a success, but they don't, and so it won't.
The massive employee exodus didn't help Ubisoft either, but I am happy for those that left from racist and sex abusive supporting shit heads. Those at the top in Ubisoft have no one to blame, but themselves. Though we all know they'll never reflect on their wrongs and constant sins.
Need for Speed Nitro is literally
NFS: Unbound, but better. The hip-hop, street, and cartoony aesthetics (
Unbound is more 2000s anime-like) are a huge indicator.
Unbound could have been great, but lacks variety from what I've seen, and plays like a lesser version of
Heat too. The customization options aren't great from what I heard either. The story is shit too, but nothing can ever be worse than
The Run or that one
NFS game's story that was an even worse version of the later
Fast and Furious movies.
Nitro's only flaw is that it needed more city or country race courses. Otherwise, the game does have a decent amount of replay value, a story mode and arcade mode, 4 player racing, and some pretty good color and tag customization options. It's one of the better arcade racers from 7th generation, and better than
NFS Most Wanted (2012), The Run,
NFS "reboot" (2015),
Rivals (I did enjoy it and found it good), and
Heat. Keep in mind, this is a Wii game release in 2009.
Nitro has something many AAA racers and "realistic" racing games are lacking: identity and personality.