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Rumor: Activision making their own peripheral for next Tony Hawk

by David Hinkle { Jul 2nd 2008 at 1:15PM }

According to the latest issue of EGM, the next Tony Hawk title might not be utilizing the Balance Board after all. Instead, Activision has supposedly been thinking about putting out their own peripheral to interact with the game, bundling it with the upcoming title.

Something that boggles our mind is the mentioning that Neversoft would not be developing the next Tony Hawk game. Considering that Neversoft produced a long-standing series from scratch and sustained it for many iterations, we'd be hard-pressed to think that Activision would take them off of the franchise. But, hey, that's just us.

Many games are using Nintendo's Balance Board, including rival skateboarding franchise Skate It from EA. Do you want to know more about Nintendo's peripheral? Watch this instructional video and be sure to check out our own Mike Sylvester's fun with it in his Revolutionary feature series.

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]

Activision's 2008 promises more Guitar Hero, James Bond, Spider-Man

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Feb 8th 2008 at 6:30AM }

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]

Skate vs. Tony Hawk: skate wins

by Richard Mitchell { Feb 1st 2008 at 2:30PM }

In a recent earnings conference call, Electronic Arts revealed that the first entry in its new skate franchise successfully managed to topple Tony Hawk, which has essentially been the only name in skating games for several years now. According to EA, skate managed to outsell Tony Hawk almost two to one (we're assuming the call is referring to Proving Ground, the most recent Tony Hawk title). This figure doesn't take the Playstation 2 version of Proving Ground into account, which seems fair considering skate was only available on current generation consoles. Honestly, the fact that the first iteration of a brand new franchise could outsell Tony Hawk speaks volumes. Looks like it's time for an overhaul if Tony wants to get back on top.

Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk getting in-game ad treatment

by Jason Dobson { Nov 14th 2007 at 11:57AM }

Anyone who's spent even a little time rocking out to Guitar Hero III has likely noticed the game's heavy-handed approach to product placement, with stages littered with cans of Red Bull and billboards hocking everything from Axe Body Spray to Pontiac. The whole thing feels oppressive and graceless as even the game's underground rock venues are reduced to feeling like props to corporate shilling. And things are likely to get worse before they get better, as Activision today announced that it has inked a deal with Microsoft-owned Massive to provide in-game ads in not only Guitar Hero III, but Tony Hawk's Proving Ground as well.

The two titles have been added to the growing Massive Network advertising collective, which also includes Activision's Transformers adaptation, and will made to include "contextually relevant" dynamic ads. Interestingly, it's unclear if this partnership extends to all versions of the affected (afflicted?) games, or just those for Microsoft's console. What is clear, however, is that as games are now a big business, more and more companies are beginning to get in line for their slice of the money pie, and while game companies and advertisers reap the benefits of this arrangement, gamers are left holding the controller wondering just when their games became interactive commercials.

Tony Hawk talks Wii Fit board as a controller

by David Hinkle { Oct 24th 2007 at 9:45AM }

Tony Hawk knows a trick or two on them there wheelie boards. That's probably why he got a whole line of games bearing his name. And, following the release of his latest title, Tony conducted an interview with Eurogamer to discuss the new game and, more interesting to us Wii-loving folk, the new Wii Fit peripheral and Channel coming from Nintendo. As if you didn't think about its use for skateboarding titles yourself ...

So, Tony thinks it could be done, using the Wii Fit board as a control device for his game. "I think it's possible to incorporate the Wii Fit board into one of our games, but it would change the control scheme dramatically and we'd have to figure out how to make that work," he comments, further adding "So I don't know yet."
While we'd argue that performing ollies and navigating a skater's route in the environment could easily be done with the device, we wonder if we would have the ability to successfully bust big chains using the Wiimote in combination with the board, as we can easily do so with a more traditional controller setup.

WRUP: Busting phat grinds edition

by David Hinkle { Oct 19th 2007 at 4:00PM }

How good does it feel to have a traditional Tony Hawk game finally release on the Wii? It feels good to us, or, rather, it will feel good when we give the game a rental this weekend. We're fairly certain that should the title lack any kind of engaging controls that maximize the use of the Wiimote and nunchuk, the Tony Hawk formula itself is something that will make up for it, as we enjoy it in and of itself (sheesh, we've bought almost all of them). Since we can't skate well like Eric Koston above or any other professional skater, we like pretending we can in video games, at least.

Any of you checking out Proving Ground or one of the other releases this week? What are you going to play?

Wii releases for the week of October 15th

by David Hinkle { Oct 15th 2007 at 12:00PM }

This week, plenty of games are waiting for eager new players to pick them up and save them from the boring life of sitting on some store's shelf. The most notable title for us is the latest entry in the Tony Hawk franchise, Proving Ground. It's a return to the roots of the franchise and nothing like Downhill Jam. We can't wait to see how it plays on the Wii.

Releases for the week of October 15th are:

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core
Mercury Meltdown: Revolution
Rockstar Games Table Tennis
Avatar: The Burning Earth
Backyard Football
Legend of Spyro: Eternal Night
Victorious Boxers

GUN sequel poster in Tony Hawk Proving Ground demo

by Justin McElroy { Sep 12th 2007 at 12:00PM }

Those who downloaded the new demo for Tony Hawk Proving Ground demo on Xbox Live may have spotted the above poster in the sample. The poster advertising rumored sequel "GUN: Magruder's Ghost" is either a really big tease or a really unconventional game announcement. Our heart says the latter, but, well, you can probably guess which one our brains say.

If you want to see the poster for yourself, head down the hill at the beginning of the demo and keep on that road until you see a large stairway on your left. You'll find the poster at the top. We'll be a little too busy dreaming of Lance Henriksen-soaked gaming goodness.

[Thanks, Squeedom]

Tony Hawk Proving Ground demo now Live

by Justin McElroy { Sep 12th 2007 at 9:30AM }

For the first time in a very long time, Tony Hawk has some real competition this year from EA's Skate. Though Tony Hawk Proving Ground has already won the award for most appropriate title of the year, the contest for the top skating franchise is still wide open. With the Skate demo already available, you can now officially lay odds on how the battle will pan out as the THPG demo backside kickflips its way on to Xbox Live.

You've seen the comparison videos, now you can get some hands-on time with both. Here's the big question: Which one will you be getting? Will you welcome a new succinctly-titled overlord, or will you keep Tony in his throne?

Gallery: Tony Hawk's Proving Ground

XBLM getting Proving Ground demo tomorrow

by Dustin Burg { Sep 9th 2007 at 5:15PM }

Eager to show what they have to bring to the skating genre, Activision announced that they'll be releasing a Tony Hawk's Proving Ground demo to the XBLM Monday, September 10th. We're guessing good ole' Acti wants to prove to loyal Tony Hawk supporters that the latest installment not only lives up to its predecessors, but will eclipse them with new features like a video editor and a skate lounge. Good news for us is that there's already a skate demo on the Marketplace, so now we'll get a chance to test both skating games and award our seal approval to the best. Let the Marketplace demo war begin!

[Thanks, Darkstar]

GH III demo to be included in Proving Ground

by Dustin Burg { Aug 24th 2007 at 8:45AM }

Yesterday, Activision announced that they'll be including a special Guitar Hero III demo on the disc of the October 9th release of Tony Hawk's Proving Ground. Proving Ground purchasers will be treated a GH III demo featuring five musical tracks which include "Lay Down" by Priestess, "Even Flow" by Pearl Jam, "The Metal" by Tenacious D, "Hit Me with your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar and "Rock You Like a Hurricane" by the Scorpions. But fret not rockers who dislike skating games, because the GH III demo will be available for download off the XBLM two weeks after Proving Ground hits retailers, sometime around October 23rd. Now we have a reason to get our X-plorer guitar tuned before October rolls around.

GH III demo on Tony Hawk for Xbox 360 and XBM, where's PS3?

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 23rd 2007 at 6:27PM }

Guitar Hero fans rejoice, the demo for Guitar Hero III will be available on the Xbox 360 version of Tony Hawk's Proving Ground releasing October 9. Two weeks after that it will be available to download on Xbox Live Marketplace. The demo will feature:

Lay Down (by Priestess)
Even Flow (by Pearl Jam)
The Metal (by Tenacious D)
Hit Me with your Best Shot (as made famous by Pat Benatar)
Rock You like a Hurricane (as made famous by Scorpions)

We had a positive experience with Guitar Hero III during E3, despite its different look and feel, the gameplay is exactly what you expect from the series. What about the PS3 version of Tony Hawk's Proving Ground having the GH III demo or release on PSN for those with the adapter? That's a very good question and one we made sure to ask Activision. Well, they told us to go ask Red Octane. We've sent emails to Red Octane and will update as soon as we get responses.

PSP Fanboy Theatre: Volume 30

by Andrew Yoon { Aug 18th 2007 at 10:00PM }

Finally, after a long E3-related hiatus, PSP Fanboy Theatre is back with an all new edition. Every weekend, PSP owners can download files wirelessly via m.pspfanboy.com.

Instructions: Save all movie and thumbnail files to the VIDEO folder. These high resolution 480x272 videos require firmware 3.30 or above. (Note: OE custom firmware will also play these videos.)

New for PSP: Get selected videos delivered automatically to your PSP via our new RSS feed.

Legend of the Heavenly Sword: Part 2

Download MP4 (13.1MB) | Download JPG

The following videos are featured after the break: Folklore (PS3), Jericho, Stranglehold, Team Fortress 2, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground.

Continued →

Complete roster of skaters for Proving Ground

by David Hinkle { Aug 7th 2007 at 4:40PM }

Being fans of the Tony Hawk franchise of games, we're anxious to get our hands on the newest title Proving Ground. 1UP was so kind as to publish a complete roster of skaters in Proving Ground, allowing us all to glimpse who we'll be busting 360 kickflips in the future. The roster looks a lot like the last Tony Hawk game, so die-hard fans of the older titles might be missing some of their favorites (oh, how we still miss you, Jamie Thomas!). 1Up even has some short bios, including screens, of the skaters in-game, for your viewing pleasure.