Activision has officially announced Tony Hawk's Motion for Nintendo DS, and, in doing so, also confirmed rumors that the game will be controlled using motion-sensing. The game will utilize an accelerometer-based "Motion Pack;" we're checking with Activision for more details on the tech (for instance, does it occupy the GBA slot?)

According to Activision, players will be able to "twist, tilt and turn through various skateboarding sessions." iPhone much? Also, as a first in the series, the game will introduce snowboarding – wait, what? Yes, "Tony Hawk," a name synonymous with ... snowboarding. Tony Hawk's Motion will come bundled with Hue Pixel Painter, an action-puzzle game that has players tilting the DS to "return color to a dull world." Both games are being handled by Creat (makers of the [ahem] superb Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am) and will hit in November. Check out the first screens below.

Update: Activision has confirmed with us that the Motion Pack is a proprietary add-on developed for it by Kionix, Inc. and fits into the DS' GBA slot.

The latest rumor to come from the pages of EGM lends further credence to one of last month's marketing leaks that Activision has gotten a little gung-ho with their plastic controllers. According to EGM's "skater spy," the next Tony Hawk game will feature a "new fancy plastic peripheral" (we're thinking something like the Wii Balance Board); for reference, the marketing leak called it "a new motion sensing board controller." Additionally, the game will supposedly not be developed by Neversoft, who at the moment have their hands full with Guitar Hero World Tour's peripherals.

We have a hard time imagining Neversoft, who created the Tony Hawk series and has worked on all previous iterations, not having a part in the next version. We've sent our network of spies into action and will let you know what we come up with.

[Via NWF]

Sounds like the peripheral geeks at Activision got bored with plastic instruments and decided that balance boards were the wave of the future. The marketing survey scraping continues, with details on two different Activision franchises using two different board peripherals: an as-yet-unnamed Spider-Man title for Wii will support the Wii Fit balance board while Tony Hawk's Adrenaline will use "a new motion sensing board controller."

What's most notable about the Tony Hawk title: it's only listed for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC ... meaning, no Wii Fit balance board peripheral. Both titles appear to be designed from the ground up for their respective peripherals, with the Spider-Man game wrapping an action title around foot-based controls. Same rules apply for these two games as with everything scraped today: consider it rumor until Activision says otherwise. These could simply be concepts as opposed to actual games under development.

Nintendo Wii owners will get a chance to Skate It this fall, but EA hasn't forgotten that those with current-gen HD consoles are also ready for their own follow-up to the game that made the last Tony Hawk look like a turkey. Two new videos posted to the official Skate site -- "What happened to that Dude?" and "What happened to San Vanelona?" -- feature skaters talking up players' feats in the first game and about how the city has changed since then, before heading into some brief gameplay clips and a teaser logo for Skate 2 (above).

According to the skaters in the clips, five years have passed in the gameworld -- Skate's fictional city of San Vanelona -- and large corporations have spearheaded a big-time crackdown on skating. They talk of harsher punishment than mere tickets and how obstacles have been put in place near rails and other prime trick spots to discourage skaters. Still, the second clip shows a skater and his board perched defiantly atop a concrete block with a "No Skateboarding" sign affixed to it. So, skateboarding is a crime after all -- at least in Skate 2 -- and it looks like you'll be sticking it to the man (in this case, big business) a la Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure.

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]

Activision's recent conference call didn't consist entirely of gloating about those record holiday-quarter sales, as the publisher also took the opportunity to outline some of its plans for 2008. It seems we're in for quite the party, albeit one where you'll actually remember everybody's name. Guitar Hero? James Bond? Tony Hawk? Spider-Man? Yeah, we've met.

According to a Variety report, the aforementioned party will see multiple performances by The Instrument Protagonists, due to promote two Guitar Hero "add-ons" in Spring and a full sequel in Fall. While party animals debate the game tie-ins to animated films Kung Fu Panda and Madagascar 2, suave gentleman will attempt to decrypt James Bond's film adaptation, Quantum of Solace. A roughly equal amount of solace will be found by the comic fans huddled around the punch bowl, as new Spider-Man and Marvel Ultimate Alliance games are expected to knock on the door at some point during the festivities.

Finally, don't expect Tony Hawk to be turned away (he's on the guest list), especially since he's bringing his friend ... uh ... Call of Duty? We honestly don't know where we're going with this analogy.

[Via The Cut Scene]

Electronic Arts might have found a contender for Tony Hawk's throne, as the publisher's skateboard title Skate enjoyed almost double the sales of the pro skater's latest. In yesterday's earning call report, EA reported, "on current generation systems, Skate outsold Tony Hawk [Proving Ground] nearly 2 to 1."

Although Skate had a one-month head start in both US and Europe, both titles were out long enough to be well-stocked for the crucial holiday season. While we're glad to have a quality competitor in the long-dominated skateboarding genre, we can only foresee a constant stream of bickering between the EA and Tony Hawk publisher Activision Blizzard at the Annual Giant Game Publishers Valentine's Day Dance.

Activision's biggest pre-merger franchises are all (GASP!) getting sequel treatment. In a fact sheet concerning the Activision Blizzard deal (PDF file), the publisher lists Guitar Hero 4, Call of Duty 5, a new Tony Hawk title (which would be its 11th iteration), a James Bond game and a racing title with the recently-acquired Bizarre Creations, as well as licensed titles with Dreamworks and Marvel.

None of these sequels come as a surprise, as they are all critical and commercial successes, but this is the first official confirmation of their existence. According to Activision Blizzard's earlier conference call, 50% of Activision's revenues are derived from franchises it owns outright, including Guitar Hero and Call of Duty. It should be noted that as well that all three franchises also have competition from rival Electronic Arts in the form of Rock Band, Medal of Honor and Skate. No word on project release dates for any of the sequels.

Read - Fact sheet [Warning: PDF file]