There has been a Tony Hawk’s game every year since the series began in 1999. Every year except 2008. For the first time in nearly a decade an entire calendar year will pass without a skating game endorsed by the Birdman hitting shelves. We almost certainly have Skate to thank for that.
We hate to appear fickle, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 remains a real personal favourite of many of the team on gameplayer, but the Tony Hawk’s series became over-indulgent and bloated. The times, they were a-changin’ – and Tony wasn’t. Skate, however, altered the way we looked at skating games. Skate altered the way we look at sports games. Most impressive of all, it didn’t do it gradually – it did it immediately. It didn’t take Skate a few sequels to eventually usurp the big-brand heavyweight – it did that first time out.
During a conference call earlier this year to discuss financial results for the company’s fiscal third quarter, Warren C. Jenson, EA Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer revealed that Skate outsold Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground by a large margin. In fact, Skate outsold Proving Ground by nearly two to one, despite launching on three fewer platforms.
This really is a rare feat. Suddenly one of the most bankable franchises on the market was being trounced by a total unknown. It wasn’t an accident, however. Skate was good. Very good. Make no mistake, Skate 2 is big news. For most of the team here there really isn’t a game we’re more looking forward to in 2009 than Skate 2 at this point – and it’s coming out in January. We’re peaking early this year, figuratively and, somewhat unfortunately, literally. We’re going to stay seated.
Productivity has plummeted since Skate 2 preview code arrived in the office. The first disc disagreed with our debug machine, and we we’re suddenly confronted with the chilling fact that our plan to spend an entire work day playing Skate 2 had been scuttled. Another disc and another debug later, however, and we were slacking off like nobody’s business. If you thought Skate was a time thief, wait until you get a load of the sequel. Seasons came and went and nations rose and fell while we were passing the controller around trying to hippy jump through a hole in a wall.
The new moves in Skate 2 are truly something special. How Black Box has managed to shoehorn in twice the tricks of the original without compromising the control system is quite remarkable, but it all boils down to the intuitive way the Black Box crew utilise the controller.
