The Tony Hawk franchise to undergo changes

  • Posted March 11th, 2008 at 13:53 EDT by
  • 2,695 views
  • 14 Comments

The Tony Hawk series has been an audacious brand for Activision since the debut in 1999 for the original PlayStation. Since then, the franchise has sold over 30 million units worldwide, establishing themselves as the king of skateboarding titles. Activision’s most recent foray was the title, Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground which was not the most accepted title of the series as it received a mere 72 percent average.

We here at PSU gave a review score of 5.5 to Proving Ground saying, “Tony Hawk's Proving Ground is a disappointing entry in the series, especially when compared to such an innovative title as EA's skate. If you've played any game in the series before, there's no reason to pick it up again.”

With this sort of reaction felt all through the gaming community, Activision has set out to reinvent the series which is dubbed the “Tony Hawk Innovation Plan" by Activision’s Senior Vice President, Will Kassoy, as described in a USA Today article. Beyond the name of the innovation project, no further details are known in regard to the specifics.

We at PSU can only speculate as to which avenues Activision may take to bring the Tony Hawk brand back to the glory that it established in the late 90s and the earlier portion of this decade. Perhaps they may send the series into a more simulation category, clearly contrary to the arcade over-the-top style that is known from the series. Maybe they may choose to find more innovative ways to implement a functional online multiplayer mode, which would connect many Tony Hawk enthusiasts with others. The possibilities are endless as always but all faith rests in Activision, a company with an immense track record that speaks for itself.


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  1. Rhysivich1

    • 2:00pm GMT - March 11th, 2008
    • 1

    Hmm, as long as they don't get all Jackassy (think THUG2) they should be ok.

  2. TheCh0sen01 | TheChosen01

    • 2:03pm GMT - March 11th, 2008
    • 2

    I think this is gonna be the right move on the part of Activision if they want to compete with Skate which took the skating community in video games by storm and set the bar very high!

  3. Gen.Penguin

    • 2:33pm GMT - March 11th, 2008
    • 3

    i would love to see Tony Hawk keep its crown. i gew up playing these games. i hope they don't try to mimmick skate with the whole "simulation" Bullcrap though, because it just wouldn't be the same.

  4. Staude | Staude

    • 2:38pm GMT - March 11th, 2008
    • 4

    the demo for skate sucked ass

  5. zellend | zellend

    • 2:44pm GMT - March 11th, 2008
    • 5

    i never liked skating games until i played skate, it is so much better then the button mashing of tony hawks... so its goin to have to do quite a lot for me to consider gettin it over skate 2

  6. JD-82 | JD-82

    • 2:51pm GMT - March 11th, 2008
    • 6

    i bought Skate, played it for a week...and traded it in.  Still got Tony Hawks PG though...Skate was too much like a simulation...i enjoy the massive romps with unrealistic tricks and so forth...grinding for 4 miles along a telephone cable is fun for me...Skate was good but not good enough to keep for too long...might buy it again when it drops in price to about £20...

  7. gingo | gingo

    • 3:44pm GMT - March 11th, 2008
    • 7

    psn id: gingo.... they need to do a lot to get to skates standards because the last TH game was terible imo and though i hate to say it EA did a decent job on a game for once except for the laggy crap online

  8. Paranoimia | Paranoimia

    • 3:47pm GMT - March 11th, 2008
    • 8

    Activision should make a Paint Drying Simulator... it would be more fun than a skateboarding game! Or a Jumpsuit & Legwarmer Wearing Simulator - another fad that went out with the 80s and no-one cares about.

  9. vicam121581

    • 4:47pm GMT - March 11th, 2008
    • 9

    hope the changes are for good.  competition is always good.

  10. Muzikguy | Muzikguy

    • 7:25pm GMT - March 11th, 2008
    • 10

    Tony Hawk was an awesome franchise. Since Project 8 and Proving Ground, it's been going downhill. Actually it was even before Project 8. If you want to make a good game don't re-release it every year with a different number at the end. People wise up fast and will just stop buying it altogether. That's just my opinion....

  11. Boxweiler | Boxweiler

    • 9:25pm GMT - March 11th, 2008
    • 11

    The Tony Hawk games never did it for me. The bottom line is that if you're looking for the most true-to-life skateboarding videogame experience, then Skate is your choice, take it from a skateboarder!

  12. Pablo0620 | Pablo0620

    • 10:59pm GMT - March 11th, 2008
    • 12

    Is it just me or do we see Activision announce major changes for Tony Hawk Series after every bomb they release

  13. Fingal_D | Fingal_D

    • 12:41am GMT - March 12th, 2008
    • 13

    WOW THProbingGround set the bar for loads of ...... if they improve online still would not buy it lameoness will rule the "skateboarding" genre with activision in the lead I would buy the original "Thrasher: Skate and Destroy" (PS1) before I buy another "TooHotPoopSlip 9000" Piant drying sim? dood I'm in! @paranoimia fads fade skateboarding stayed

  14. InfernoReaper | GrimDarkling

    • 1:43am GMT - March 12th, 2008
    • 14

    I never played a Tony Hawk game after THPS4.  It got way too gimmicky with all those board-hopping moves and the like.  I don't like the whole "choose your path" thing they had going on in PG.  The demo sucked after playing the Skate demo, and after getting Skate, neither is perfect.

    ---

    Skate would be great if EA had taken the time to fix the framerate and the camera.  I don't mind the camera being down by the board, but when it gets behind my guy and blocks half the screen, those cars come pretty quick.  The Skate replay editor kicks so much ***.

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