Introducing Tony Hawk to a New Generation

by Brett Bates , BITMOB STAFF

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

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One thing that became clear to me during the Tony Hawk: Ride event I attended on Saturday: This game isn't for us.

And by that I mean it's not for anyone who's serious about video games. It's not for those of us who follow NPD numbers, post comments on NeoGAF, or know that there's this series called Skate that nails the feeling of skating better than any of the Tony Hawk games have done -- including this one.

Tony Hawk: Ride and its plastic board are for the Wii generation, pure and simple.

I suspected as much when I saw the phrase "family fun" emblazoned across the invitation Activision sent me. But it was the layout of the event itself that really tipped me off. Front and center were 20 or so Wii stations, each one occupied by a smiling kid watching his big-headed Mii pull off tricks onscreen. Exiled to the back of the room, behind a velvet rope and a sign labeled "Media Station Only," sat a handful of 360s.

I think it's pretty easy to figure out the market Activision is aiming for.

That's a smart move on their part. Most anyone who cares about skating video games has moved on to Skate; it makes sense to shift the marketing focus to people who have never played a skating game before and who are conditioned to buying extra doohickeys like the Wii Fit balance board, the Nunchuck, or Wii Motion Plus -- not to mention the mounds of plastic instruments most of them have crowding their living rooms.

This retooling has produced an added benefit: Activision has made Tony Hawk fun again. Sure, it's also simplistic and not very challenging -- I managed to score an impressive combo on "Hardcore" after just a few minutes of practice -- but I finished my session smiling and a little short of breath.

More importantly, the kids around me were smiling, too. And those are the people Activision needs to win over. Tony Hawk: Ride will live or die this holiday season on whether kids can convince their parents to plunk down $120.

I'm sure some of the kids at this event will be able to do just that.

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The ghettoized press section at the back of the room.

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An ollie in action.

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Some guy named Tony Hawk shows off the features of the board.

"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wtROZoYEuw"

Tony Hawk demonstrates how it's done.

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In one area of the room, kids could decorate their own wooden boards.

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An impressive design from a kid who really likes skulls.

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Comments (23)

Alejandro Quan-Madrid

November 17, 2009 20:31

Tony Hawk: Ride will live or die this holiday season on whether kids can convince their parents to plunk down $120.

Is this by chance a not so subtle reference to Skate or Die? ;D

Brett Bates

November 17, 2009 20:35

@Alejandro: Um......yes? :)

Marco Gutierrez

November 17, 2009 20:55

Well I wouldn't mind trying this out. I still have yet to play Skate and still have yet to purchase another Wiimote and Nunchuck.

Dan "Shoe" Hsu

November 17, 2009 20:57

Great observations.

Keith Schloemer

November 17, 2009 21:00

Skate or Die! I will once again show my age and say that I played a ton of that game back in the day. Thanks for the look inside an interesting event. I really like that it is new and different for a new generation of young gamers. That said, I am not 10 yeas old. So I politely decline the chance to skull emblazon my very own board peripheral and grind carpet. Sadly, I fear the $120 price tag may scare off the soccer moms in suburbia looking to buy "something fun" for their tykes this Christmas.

Jason Wilson

November 17, 2009 21:19

[Shakes fist] I hate skateboards, skateboarders, and skateboarding. The only thing a skateboard is good for is hitting someone over the head with it. I hate watching skateboarders practically run down little old ladies on the sidewalk.

Rich McGrath

November 17, 2009 21:50

So the game might not be for us gamers. But there is only so many plastic accessories a mom will buy for their child's Wii, before they get fed up.

Travis McReynolds

November 17, 2009 21:51

I miss Skate or Die... I've got so much platic BS in my house it's starting to look like a damn Toys R Us. I'm afraid this'll be a pass, unless it starts racking up the GOTY awards.

Brett Bates

November 17, 2009 21:55

@Rich: True, the plastic accessory craze has to end sometime. But the Ride board is pretty unobtrusive, and the price, while high, is still within the range of an acceptable Christmas gift... We'll see! If this and DJ Hero both fail this year, we may see a lot less plastic from Activision in the future.

Roberto Flores

November 17, 2009 23:38

I think that ever since Tony Hawk RIDE was officially revealed, it became pretty clear that the actual skateboarding game torch had now been legitimately passed on to the Skate series--even if Skate had already ripped it off the TH series' hands the moment it hit the 360 and ps3. Now, the Tony Hawk series will finally serve the function they probably should've always served in the first place: An arcade-like alternative to an actual sports game. Just like Burnout and NFS to Forza and Grand Turismo and the Blitz series to the Madden ones have been for a long time. Tony Hawk was never the undisputed king of skateboarding games. There just wasn't an actual option until Skate came along.

Lance Darnell

November 18, 2009 01:59

Great post. Thanks everyone for mentioning the awesome Skate or Die, and I think Jason should get an award for his comment - it even had the shaking fist!!!!

[Shakes fist] I hate skateboards, skateboarders, and skateboarding. The only thing a skateboard is good for is hitting someone over the head with it. I hate watching skateboarders practically run down little old ladies on the sidewalk.

Matt Swain

November 18, 2009 17:28

ugh more usless plastic. First of all if you gotta come up with some bullshit like this then your series is dead. Tony hawk ended for me with proskater 3. Skate is where its at now. not only that but enough with the damn add on perepherials! who seriously wants to spend over a 100 each year for more plastic shit? if it gets to the point where i need a plastic skate board to get the job done i might as well just go outside and skate. my Wii and its 10000 add on controllers have been sold and the only plastic instrument i have is the ps2 controller for the original guitar hero. looked like a cool event nonetheless.

Chris Cosmo Ross

November 18, 2009 18:14

@Jason - Not everyone who skateboards is a douche. I skateboarded for years and never ran any old ladies down. In fact, I would go to the local nursing home and volunteer my time, all because I could transport myself via skateboard. Okay, that last part is made-up, but the first part is true. :P

Lance Darnell

November 18, 2009 18:23

Cosmo is funny!!!! :D

Jason Wilson

November 18, 2009 18:25

@Cosmo. OK, for making that up, you need to skate down to the old-folks home and volunteer. Play some Pinochle.

Lance Darnell

November 18, 2009 18:30

@Jason - I agree. And I want pictures!!!

Chris Cosmo Ross

November 18, 2009 18:59

@Jason - How about Cribbage?

Jason Wilson

November 18, 2009 19:40

@Cosmo Pinochle is a superior game. It's the best card game around. It requires bluffing, tactics, and guile.

Chris Cosmo Ross

November 18, 2009 21:04

@Jason - I agree. However, have you ever tried to play with someone suffering from dementia?

Jason Wilson

November 18, 2009 21:53

@Cosmo Actually, kinda. Before my great-uncle had a bad stroke, my dad, brother, and I played with him -- he needed a little prodding as he's 86, but he did OK. Now, sadly, he's in a home and doesn't know any of us anymore.

Tony DaSilva

November 20, 2009 00:09

Brett - I covered the exact same event in NYC - I have almost the same photos on my story for Kombo and a bit of an interview with the Birdman. check it out: http://www.kombo.com/article.php?artid=13851 I thought the game was a bit more fun than you, but I also had about 6 Heinekens in me. ;D

Michael Pangelina

November 21, 2009 23:39

@Jason Don't listen to Cosmo, we're ALL douches. Anyway, I think Brett's right about this being marketed to a different audience. It's interesting to me that Tony Hawk created a whole new generation of skaters with THPS; and those same people have now graduated to skate while Tony has almost forgotten about them completely. That said, I definitely will NOT be playing this game. Unless one of my friends gets it, and I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen either.

Toby Davis

November 22, 2009 00:28

@Cosmo I want to play Cribbage ;)

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