No Tony Hawk in 2008

by Justin McElroy { May 9th 2008 at 8:30AM }

We've seen so many game announcements this week, it's almost sort of refreshing to get to write a non-announcement. During yesterday's Activision earnings call, the company revealed that there would be no new console Tony Hawk game in 2008. If you can believe it, it's the first time the game hasn't gotten an annual release since Tony Hawk's Pro Skater first ollied into the nation's heart in 1999.

Though we can understand if some of you are bummed without your yearly Hawk infusion, we couldn't be happier. After getting its clock cleaned 2 to 1 by Skate, it seems like the perfect time for Activision to regroup, lick its wounds and, you know, put some effort into the series.

[Via X3F]

Tags: activision, tony-hawk, tonyhawk

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

xFenixKnightx @ May 9th 2008 8:35AM

I prefer Skate anyway. One of the few multiplat games I ended up buying on PS3 over 360. Mainly for my kids and because it was on sale.

Buckshot @ May 9th 2008 9:03AM

I for one (probaly the only one)thought skate sucked. Absolutly hated the control scheme. I'm just used to the same setup since dreamcast I suppose. I will give skate 2 a try though, when it appears. It's going to be weird when every game released comes either from activison/blizzard or EA, which is the direction publishing seems to be going.

StrangeBum @ May 9th 2008 9:21AM

I actually preferred Skate over Tony Hawk's games because of the control scheme. Although alot of it could have to do with the fact that I am a skater in the real world too and it's amazing how fluid the movements are in the game.

My one gripe however, is that the entire game is pretty much setup around making money to buy....clothes...there just isn't enough incentive to play the game through, IMO.

ScottG13 @ May 9th 2008 9:06AM

Great decision. Spend 2 years on development and come out with something innovative and interesting for the fans.

Grey Acumen @ May 9th 2008 10:39AM

Maybe like optimizing the graphics for the Wii and using the Wiifit balance board as an optional control method?

ScottG13 @ May 9th 2008 11:13AM

In all honesty, I hope the created a dedicated game FOR the WiiFit board. They need to really branch those products and design a product around the strengths and limitations of the Wii instead of just porting over PS2/PSP games.

I couldn't care less about WiiFit or Tony Hawk, but I can definitely see a great product coming out of that joining.

baby sea tuna @ May 9th 2008 9:09AM

Good move. Maybe they'll stop and think before punchfucking the franchise any further into the ground.

xFenixKnightx @ May 9th 2008 9:13AM

Punchfucking? I just learned a new word! :)

Nice one BST.

Ihavepants @ May 9th 2008 9:43AM

Know what BST, if you replace Mario with a small fish you would be my favourite person ever.

t_m @ May 9th 2008 10:31AM

@fenix: just don't google it... you won't like the results...

Mr.ESC @ May 9th 2008 1:57PM

He is right,one of the results lead me to scientology.com WTF?

Hashbrown Hunter @ May 9th 2008 2:01PM

Tom Cruise confirmed as playable character in next Tony Hawk.

Freelancepimp @ May 9th 2008 9:13AM

Do we actually need a Tony Hawk, Madden, NBA-whatever, Need for Speed, NHL, or MLB game every year.

PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ May 9th 2008 10:00AM

i sure dont. i actually dont play any of those games you mentioned regularly. i may buy a Tony Hawk or Madden every couple of years but thats about it. they are essentially the same game over and over with that small amount of development time.

so maybe if they take their time, i may actually buy one.

PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ May 9th 2008 10:03AM

and with their sports games, EA should have 2 teams working on the game and each puts out a new game every 2 years instead of annually (kind of like the Call of Duty series). they would in theory get much better quality that way. but i guess since there is no (or soon to be no) competition in the majority of their games, i doubt they would put that effort into it. people will buy it regardless though which is the sad part.

perfectchaos @ May 9th 2008 12:08PM

Judging by the sales figures each year apparently a few million people do

voodoo_craig @ May 9th 2008 9:33AM

I'm not sure if this is good news or not, imagine just hom many new gimmicks they can come up with in double the amount of time they normally have!

butaneko @ May 9th 2008 9:44AM

If you look up "jaded former THPS fan" in the dictionary there's a picture of me. I purchased every game in the series up until last year but after playing the skate demo and the in-store purchasable expanded content I had no interest in going back to grinding giraffe's necks and roller coasters.

PojoMofo @ May 9th 2008 10:25AM

agreed that is only fun in the first 8 games!

I only played 1-4 and the first THUG.

I look up derivative in the dictionary and see a picture of THPS

Gewurztraminer says: R.O.B. is the last Cylon! @ May 9th 2008 11:11AM

THPS > THUG

Shmil @ May 9th 2008 9:55AM

Well I guess they figure ol' Bessie is just about dried up, time to start a new feed on that ol' cow.

PojoMofo @ May 9th 2008 10:27AM

I bet they just need a year to figure out how to make it work with WiiFit

t_m @ May 9th 2008 10:37AM

I just wanted to say that THPS was a really awesome, innovative game at the time. I missed THPS1, but I played THPS2 to death, and a lot of THPS3.

It should be remembered that it basically created the extreme sports genre, and almost every game that followed copied it. It wasn't so realistic... but I still remember some of the classic levels.

Annual franchises are almost universally a bad idea.. no-one can come up with new ideas for any franchise that often... so you end up with tacked-on gimmicks or minimal changes. Madden syndrome.

Just as long as they don't simply come out with a Skate clone...

PS/ I want a new Pro Surfer game!! (and a snowboarding game for the PC!)

navstar @ May 10th 2008 12:02AM

Skate completely obliterates the Birdman. Competition is a good thing! Perhaps they've gone back to the drawing board to really reinvent the Tony Hawk franchise.

Marty @ May 9th 2008 11:19AM

Man, EA puts out a rival game to the Tony Hawk series and instantly they just roll over. So much for competition, eh? Now Skate will be free to be as mediocre as it wants to be, since it will be the only choice gamers have.

Marty @ May 9th 2008 11:19AM

TheHuntIsOn @ May 9th 2008 11:37AM

Nathan Barley?

Kakairo @ May 9th 2008 12:07PM

I really think there is room in this world for both skate. and THPS. It's like racing games--skate. is a simulation racer (GT or Forza) and THPS is an arcade racer (PGR or later Need for Speed). I hope the next game doesn't go too far down the serious skating route. Why not have a realistic skating game and a low-gravity, impossible spins arcade-style game?

[.sm0ke.] @ May 9th 2008 12:18PM

And nothing of value was lost.

mietha CAG @ May 9th 2008 12:21PM

Good move on their part. TH has not been worth playing in several years. IMO, skate is even worse though, so...

CynicalStrike @ May 9th 2008 1:21PM

Project 8 was a bit of a return to form, but after playing Skate for 3 months going back to TH was impossible. That strange uncanny valley, no-physics world where even car factories are designed with skating in mind is dead to me.

Orionsaint @ May 9th 2008 3:43PM

Skate made Tony Hawk rethink his little franchise.

LAWL @ May 9th 2008 6:32PM

Cool ,they might have time to work on the game now.
Awsome,TH gets competition and now it gets serious,wonder what would happen if EA succeeded on those monopoly plans?

joshua @ May 10th 2008 12:21AM

I liked Project 8, but yea, Neversoft and Activision totally got their asses kicked this time around. One must wonder if Neversoft would have adopted a Skate type gameplay model had they had more than a year to work on each game.

One must also wonder if maybe part of the reason for this is Activision wants all of Neversoft's staff on Guitar Hero for now while they can clean up as much as possible before they run it into the ground (as nice as GH is, I doubt it will withstand 9 years of milking like Tony Hawk!).

Finally, if this is not proof that more competition is good, nothing is. Hopefully the NFL looks at this and then looks at the stale ass Madden franchise next time that EA exclusivity contract is up for renewal.

Kokomadeta @ May 10th 2008 2:30AM

It's about time. Seriously, THPS3 and 4 sucked, and so did Undergroud 2. After playing the crap-fest Project 8, I didn't even bother with Proving Ground. I was a HUGE fan of the Tony Hawk series, but it has been run into the ground. Skate wasn't very good itself due to its confusing control scheme and difficulty level (and people give Sonic games crap?), but I'd still try the second if it comes out. I would still love to see a game in the Tony Hawk series, but the goals, 360 controls (spinning and reverting needs to be back like it was on the Xbox), and the storyline all need to be overhauled.

And now that I mention it, I get the urge to play THUG or Project 8 (UGH) again. That's not good at all...

lee @ Jul 20th 2008 9:06AM

i think its a gd move on the tony hawk games

ive played every single

one of them and completed them all =]

on every single mode i remember completeing thug like 6 times LOL! they have been great games n then EA Skate came around and i think it really made activision and tony hawk think we got some serious comp now we got up are standards people are obv really likein the affect of how real skate is so i think there gona up it now to a more realistic level which i think will make the game a whole lot better since you got so many differant options on the tony hawk games a more realistic feel to it will make it an AMAZING! Game i believe n will knock ea skate out of the ranks if they get this down gd :)

i brought skate and i love it but i also got tony hawks proving ground and tbh its gettin to ea skate standards slowly its just gota be more realistic the old arcade style is startin to wear off now we want more realistic skateing i'm a skater myself n was blown away by skate but i prefer the tony hawks proving ground story mode cause it does seem 2 last longer and you got things like being able 2 be a big star like tony hawk or jus be a skater who skates for himself not to be a big time celb and stuff like that n u get to make ur own skate team and have ur own brand of shoes and clothing so they really went into depth with the story mode which i think is great but ye if they step up the realness of skateing like ea skate then tony hawk wins all the way =]