Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. What does that collection of words make you think of? Memories of virtual skate sessions after school? Classic 90s songs burned into your memory? Tony Hawk himself thinks those words could be connected to a Pro Skater esports league.
Speaking with Front Office Sports (via PCGamesN), Hawk said that a Pro Skater esports league “would be great.” Hawk believes that if the series was just getting its start this decade, it probably would have been even more successful.
“If we would have first come out on consoles within the last five years or so, the online element would be much, much bigger and would have probably given it more longevity.”
Hawk imagines a Pro Skater esports league similar to those of Overwatch or Madden. He realizes it’s unlikely that an esports scene would crop up around the old Pro Skater games two decades after they released, but hopes his new mobile game can spur competition.
The most recent Tony Hawk’s title to release is the mobile game Tony Hawk’s Skate Jam, which features online play and competition. Activision, who owned the rights to the Tony Hawk’s license, published Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 in 2015 to critical and commercial failure. The game was viewed as a cynical cash-grab due to the game’s buggy, unfinished state. Skate Jam was developed by Maple Media and sees the Tony Hawk name grace its first non-Activision game.
The first Tony Hawk’s game that came with an online component was Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 in 2001. It was the first PS2 game that supported online play and allowed up to 8 players to skate together in various modes. EA’s Skate series took up the skateboarding mantle after Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater moved away from the core gameplay of Neversoft titles for various gimmicks. Tony Hawk’s Skate Jam is available on iOS and Android for free with in-app purchases.
Top Image: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 HD (via YouTube)
