A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| Tony Hawk's | |
|---|---|
| Genre(s) | Extreme sports |
| Developer(s) | Neversoft (1999–2007) Vicarious Visions (2001–2007, 2020) Robomodo (2009–2015) Other
|
| Publisher(s) | Activision (1999–2015, 2020) Other
|
| Platform(s) | PlayStation PlayStation 2 PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 PlayStation Portable Nintendo 64 GameCube Wii Nintendo Switch Game Boy Color Game Boy Advance Nintendo DS Dreamcast Xbox Xbox 360 Xbox One Xbox Series X/S Windows Macintosh N-Gage Mobile iOS Android |
| First release | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater September 29, 1999 |
| Latest release | Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 September 4, 2020 |
Tony Hawk's is a skateboarding video game series published by Activision and endorsed by the American professional skateboarder of the same name. The series was primarily developed for home consoles by Neversoft with an annual release schedule from launch to 2007, until Activision transferred the franchise to Robomodo in 2008, who developed the franchise on a non-annual release basis until 2015 when Activision and Hawk's license expired, leaving the future of the series uncertain.[1] In 2020, the series returned under Activision with a remake of the original two games in the series, with development handled by Vicarious Visions. The series has spawned a total of 20 games.
Starting out with the initial Tony Hawk's Pro Skater in 1999,[2] the series proved to be one of the most popular and best-selling video game franchises of the early 2000s. Three more Pro Skater games were released from 2000 to 2002, after which the developers took a more story-oriented approach with the releases of Underground, Underground 2 and American Wasteland from 2003 to 2005. Project 8 in 2006 and Proving Ground in 2007 were the last games in the series developed by Neversoft. After that, developer Robomodo took the franchise in a different direction by developing the peripheral supported spin-offs Ride and Shred, released in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Both were commercial and critical failures. Robomodo tried unsuccessfully to revive the series with the back to the roots-oriented releases of Pro Skater HD in 2012 and Pro Skater 5 in 2015. The series spawned several other spin-offs, such as Downhill Jam in 2006 and Motion in 2008, along with several ports and re-releases.
Neversoft's first five Tony Hawk's received critical acclaim for their unique gameplay, varied soundtracks, and expansion over their predecessors. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and Pro Skater 3 are critically ranked among the best games released for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, respectively.[3][4][5] However, later entries started getting less favorable reviews, culminating in the games developed by Robomodo being critically panned, with Ride and Pro Skater 5 being named "Worst Games of the Year" by several outlets.[6][7][8] After this, Activision let the licensing deal expire while holding all publishing rights.[1][9] Fans continued to support the legacy of the series through an online multiplayer fangame called THUG Pro, which uses Underground 2's engine in an all-encompassing collection of levels from the series.[10]
The first game bearing the Tony Hawk's name not to be published by Activision, Tony Hawk's Skate Jam, was released in December 2018 for iOS and Android.[11] A second high-definition remake of the first two games, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, published by Activision and developed by Vicarious Visions (who previously developed ports of several Tony Hawk's games), was released on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows in 2020.
Games
Games in bold indicate main installments.
| Year | Title | Developer | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | Additional | ||||
| Handheld | Other | ||||
| 1999 | Pro Skater | Neversoft (PlayStation) | Natsume Co., Ltd. (GBC) Ideaworks3D (N-Gage, Mobile)[12] |
Treyarch (Dreamcast) Edge of Reality (N64) | |
| 2000 | Pro Skater 2 | Vicarious Visions (GBA) Natsume Co., Ltd. (GBC) |
LTI Gray Matter (Windows, iOS) Aspyr (Mac/Pocket PC) Treyarch (Dreamcast) Edge of Reality (N64) | ||
| 2001 | Pro Skater 3 | Neversoft (PS2, GCN, Xbox) | Vicarious Visions (GBA) HotGen (GBC) |
Shaba Games (PlayStation) Gearbox Software (Windows) Edge of Reality (N64) Beenox (Mac) | |
| Pro Skater 2x | Treyarch (Xbox) | — | — | ||
| 2002 | Pro Skater 4 | Neversoft (PS2, GCN, Xbox) | Vicarious Visions (GBA, Mobile[13]) Semi Logic Entertainments (Zodiac)[14] |
Vicarious Visions (PlayStation) Beenox (Windows, Mac) | |
| 2003 | Underground | Vicarious Visions (GBA) Jamdat (Mobile) |
Beenox (Windows) | ||
| 2004 | Underground 2 | Vicarious Visions (GBA) Jamdat (Mobile) Shaba Games (Underground 2: Remix: PSP) | |||
| 2005 | American Wasteland | Neversoft (PS2, GCN, Xbox, X360) | Vicarious Visions (American Sk8land: DS, GBA) Jamdat (Mobile) |
Aspyr (Windows) | |
| 2006 | Downhill Jam | Toys for Bob (Wii) | Vicarious Visions (DS) Visual Impact (GBA) Fishlabs[15] (Mobile) |
SuperVillain Studios (PS2) | |
| Project 8 | Neversoft (X360, PS3) | Page 44 Studios (PSP) InfoSpace (Mobile) |
Shaba Games (Xbox, PS2) | ||
| 2007 | Proving Ground | Vicarious Visions (DS) In-Fusio (Mobile) |
Page 44 Studios (Wii, PS2) | ||
| 2008 | Motion | Creat Studios (DS) | |||
| 2009 | Vert | Glu Mobile (Mobile) | |||
| Ride | Robomodo (X360, PS3) | — | Buzz Monkey Software (Wii) | ||
| 2010 | Shred | Robomodo (X360, PS3, Wii) | — | Buzz Monkey Software (Wii) | |
| 2012 | Pro Skater HD | Robomodo (X360, PS3, Windows) | — | Disruptive Games (online multiplayer) | |
| 2014 | Shred Session | Big Bit (iOS, Android; pulled after soft launch) | |||
| 2015 | Pro Skater 5 | Robomodo (XONE, PS4) | — | Disruptive Games (online multiplayer) Fun Labs (X360, PS3) | |
| 2018 | Skate Jam[11] | Maple Media (iOS, Android) | |||
| 2020 | Pro Skater 1 + 2[16] | Vicarious Visions (Windows, PS4, PS5, XONE, XSX/S) | Turn Me Up Games (Switch)[17] | Beenox (additional work)[18] | |
Gameplay
The Tony Hawk's series was originally developed as a classic arcade game. The goal of most modes of the game is to achieve a high score.[19] To do this, the player has to successfully perform and combine aerials, flips, grinds, lips, and manuals, with successful executions adding to the player's score. The point value of the trick is based on time maintained, degrees rotated, number of tricks performed in sequence, performing tricks on specific landmarks on the map, and the number of times the tricks have been used.[20] Successful tricks also add to the player's special meter, which, once full, allows for the execution of special tricks which are worth a great deal more than normal tricks. Bails (falling off the skateboard due to poor landing) cause no points to be awarded for the attempted trick and reset the special bar to empty. The controls of the game developed further the more the series progressed. While the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater featured a fairly limited set of moves, later entries allowed the player to switch between moves during the same grind or manual sequence, perform transfers, hold on to and drive various vehicles, walk on foot and scale walls, slowing time, or performing more advanced tricks by pressing buttons repeatedly, for example a double or triple kickflip instead of a normal one.[21] Later entries, such as American Wasteland, allowed the player to also use a BMX, whereas Motion and Shred featured snowboarding.
The first three Pro Skater games centered around an arcade mode, in which the player is tasked with achieving a high score, perform certain tasks and collect a number of objects in a limited amount of time. If the player completes enough of these objectives in one level, they unlock other levels and acquires currency, with which they can improve their character. Also, there are competition levels, in which the player does not have to collect any objects, but perform an excellent score with minimal bails in order to progress.[22] Starting with Pro Skater 2, it was also possible to create a custom character and design individual skateparks. Furthermore, all games until Pro Skater 5 featured local multiplayer, while it was possible to compete in online multiplayer since Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. From the first Pro Skater onward, it was possible to access all levels without having to perform tasks and without a time limit. This concept was later used in career mode from Pro Skater 4 onwards.[23] Non-player characters give tasks to the player, who could otherwise freely explore the levels without time constraints. Starting with Underground, the series replaced the career mode with a proper story mode. In Underground, Project 8, and Proving Ground, the story centered around the player character turning into a professional skateboarder.[24] In Underground 2, the only direct sequel in the series, on the other hand, the player embarks on a destruction tour around the world, orchestrated by Tony Hawk and Bam Margera.[25] In American Wasteland, which was the first entry to feature one consecutive open world instead of separate levels, the player character intends to rebuild an old skatepark in Los Angeles.[26]
After Activision moved the series from Neversoft to Robomodo, the developer significantly changed the general outlet and gameplay of the franchise. Tony Hawk: Ride and its successor, Tony Hawk: Shred introduced a peripheral skateboard which replaced the controller. Aiming to provide a realistic skateboarding experience, turning, leaning, hopping, and other actions on the peripheral device were directly translated into the movements of the in-game character via infrared sensors. This resulted in the abandonment of open levels, which were replaced by linear levels that had the character skate on pre-set paths. A similar attempt was made with the Nintendo DS game Tony Hawk's Motion, which used a peripheral device that recognized the leaning of the DS system and had the skater move accordingly.
Skaters
The below table includes all playable professional skateboarders from the main series of games. It does not include playable characters such as Officer Dick, Darth Maul and Gene Simmons who are either fictional characters or based on real people who are not professional skateboarders.[27]
