Skateboarding 'Has Run Its Course' As A Top Video Game Format

[Blzer]

Re: Skateboarding 'Has Run Its Course' As A Top Video Game Format

Unless I missed a news bulletin somewhere, EA is still planning on pounding out another Skate game. Activision, on the other hand, needs to figure something out, and if they don't, then I foresee EA dominating the genre for quite a while. Would love to see a skate. styled game in another sport, such as BMX, Inline, or Snowboarding, though.

I don't think anyone said they're done with it, but it's time to rethink why another one should even be released in the next year, let alone at all. Unless they are just grabbing cash, what is the next worthwhile innovation that will up the ante just a little more?

That's why I'm content with Skate 3 for now and a while longer, and I hope that they take a while on Skate 4. I still remember when the first Skate game came out. Revolutionary! I don't know why Skate 2 and Skate 3 had to come out of the door so quickly. If Skate 3 was Skate 2 (and released this spring like it was), you wouldn't see this article being published.

[Whitesox]

Re: Skateboarding 'Has Run Its Course' As A Top Video Game Format

I don't think anyone said they're done with it, but it's time to rethink why another one should even be released in the next year, let alone at all. Unless they are just grabbing cash, what is the next worthwhile innovation that will up the ante just a little more?

That's why I'm content with Skate 3 for now and a while longer, and I hope that they take a while on Skate 4. I still remember when the first Skate game came out. Revolutionary! I don't know why Skate 2 and Skate 3 had to come out of the door so quickly. If Skate 3 was Skate 2 (and released this spring like it was), you wouldn't see this article being published.

Firstly, I disagree with the last part. This article was published because the last two Tony Hawk games have been, quite frankly, garbage.

I also hope that Skate 4 takes a while longer, and I personally hope that they move away from the Online stuff. To me the ideal skate game is one with an extremely solid career mode, and a huge, diverse city for me to skate in. The Skate games have been great with this, but I feel like too much emphasis was put on the online portion of Skate 3.

How else do you improve on the Skate franchise? Maybe a few more tricks here and there, but what else? The only thing I want from them now is a massive city. So I'm fine with them taking time to build it, but the market for such a game is not dead imo.

[Blzer]

Re: Skateboarding 'Has Run Its Course' As A Top Video Game Format

No one said the market is dead, but it's hard-pressing to think of something fresh now while sticking to a "realistic" base. Much like the music game genre, you can add more songs but eventually you're still playing with plastic. Harmonix has gone on to do an awesome pro mode, but tacking on this new stuff just costs so much for most gamers. The music game genre would have been less stale if Neversoft didn't pound out GH game after GH game, forcing Harmonix to do the same with RB.

Well what do you know, Neversoft would then pound out THPS game after THPS game, while Black Box kind of forced themselves to make three Skate games already.

I'm all for Skate 4, but I'd like to remind you that I have spent less than $60 on the Skate games so far. That is, I bought Skate and Skate 3 used, roughly six months after each were released. I saved my money but would have gladly gotten them brand new and on release day if they didn't recycle the exact same thing so closely to each other.

The best thing they can do right now is ride out a little bit of time before people do get completely burned.

[Whitesox]

Re: Skateboarding 'Has Run Its Course' As A Top Video Game Format

No one said the market is dead, but it's hard-pressing to think of something fresh now while sticking to a "realistic" base. Much like the music game genre, you can add more songs but eventually you're still playing with plastic. Harmonix has gone on to do an awesome pro mode, but tacking on this new stuff just costs so much for most gamers. The music game genre would have been less stale if Neversoft didn't pound out GH game after GH game, forcing Harmonix to do the same with RB.

Well what do you know, Neversoft would then pound out THPS game after THPS game, while Black Box kind of forced themselves to make three Skate games already.

I'm all for Skate 4, but I'd like to remind you that I have spent less than $60 on the Skate games so far. That is, I bought Skate and Skate 3 used, roughly six months after each were released. I saved my money but would have gladly gotten them brand new and on release day if they didn't recycle the exact same thing so closely to each other.

The best thing they can do right now is ride out a little bit of time before people do get completely burned.

Oh, I totally agree. My main issue is this- what do they do next? All I can think of is a bigger city.

[Blzer]

Re: Skateboarding 'Has Run Its Course' As A Top Video Game Format

I suppose I can think of that only as well, aside from some other things here and there. But you see, this is exactly why they shouldn't have pounded out so many sequentially. If this is all they're left with, they can't keep doing this for Skate 5, 6, and 19. Neversoft tried something new with Tony Hawk, and it's a worse game as a result. I hope this doesn't go down that road.

The one thing I don't like about Skate 3 though is the world isn't actually attached. You have to teleport to go from the university to downtown, to the industrial area, etc. I didn't play the retail version of Skate 2 but if it was essentially still San Vanelona then I'm sure it was still all attached as one world. Port Carverton doesn't have this luxury, sadly.

[Whitesox]

Re: Skateboarding 'Has Run Its Course' As A Top Video Game Format

I suppose I can think of that only as well, aside from some other things here and there. But you see, this is exactly why they shouldn't have pounded out so many sequentially. If this is all they're left with, they can't keep doing this for Skate 5, 6, and 19. Neversoft tried something new with Tony Hawk, and it's a worse game as a result. I hope this doesn't go down that road.

The one thing I don't like about Skate 3 though is the world isn't actually attached. You have to teleport to go from the university to downtown, to the industrial area, etc. I didn't play the retail version of Skate 2 but if it was essentially still San Vanelona then I'm sure it was still all attached as one world. Port Carverton doesn't have this luxury, sadly.

As someone who hasn't payed Skate 3, that sounds extremely tedious and unfortunate.

I think if they take a year and a half/two years designing a big, flowing world per cycle they should be fine for the next few iterations.

[Shinyhubcaps]

Skate 3 must not have sold well for EA to say this. That game has a lot of good assets and features, but there is a lot of room for improvement. A 4th game could be made just by making noted improvements, but I have no complaints about how Skate was released in 2007 and Skate 3 in 2010. Skate 2 could have been better.

But Skate 3 can also fill the appetite for skateboarding games for years. They're still cashing in on DLC, and also the community-generated graphics and skateparks. It's a pretty good game, but again, there's room for improvement.

On that note, Tony Hawk-style arcade play is way out of date.

[LionsFanNJ]

Re: Skateboarding 'Has Run Its Course' As A Top Video Game Format

being heavy into the BMX scene when i was younger i'm itching for an awesome BMX game along the lines of skate. Though BMX popularity might not be the same as skateboarding.

[Simp]

I know people loved SSX, but I'd rather they made an uber-realistic snowboarding game like Skate. That would be so much fun.

Have you tried Stoked? I got Stoked: Big Air Edition last winter (had to order it online as they don't sell it it Canada), and it's pretty good. It definitely takes a more realistic approach. Big mountain, big powder, go anywhere you want in the game.

The controls can Be a little stiff at times but this game represents the feeling of riding powder better than any snowboarding game I've played before it.

[Bellsprout]

Re: Skateboarding 'Has Run Its Course' As A Top Video Game Format

Have you tried Stoked? I got Stoked: Big Air Edition last winter (had to order it online as they don't sell it it Canada), and it's pretty good. It definitely takes a more realistic approach. Big mountain, big powder, go anywhere you want in the game.

The controls can Be a little stiff at times but this game represents the feeling of riding powder better than any snowboarding game I've played before it.

I think Stoked is 360 only, and I have a PS3. Shame, I was following that game and it looked pretty good.

[BlueNGold]

Re: Skateboarding 'Has Run Its Course' As A Top Video Game Format

EA only has themselves to blame here IMO. If I remember right, they released Skate 1, 2 and 3 all on 1 year cycles. If they would have just taken 2 years off from 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 then things would have been much better in terms of sales.

The games weren't bad at all and didn't suffer from those 1 year cycles, but I think it would have kept the market for skateboarding games around a little longer.

Just look at the music game genre. They over-saturated the market with a ****load of games (mostly have to blame Activision/Guitar Hero for that) and now most people are tired of those games.

[Shinyhubcaps]

Re: Skateboarding 'Has Run Its Course' As A Top Video Game Format

EA only has themselves to blame here IMO. If I remember right, they released Skate 1, 2 and 3 all on 1 year cycles. If they would have just taken 2 years off from 1 to 2 and 2 to 3 then things would have been much better in terms of sales.

The games weren't bad at all and didn't suffer from those 1 year cycles, but I think it would have kept the market for skateboarding games around a little longer.

Just look at the music game genre. They over-saturated the market with a ****load of games (mostly have to blame Activision/Guitar Hero for that) and now most people are tired of those games.

The article actually says that the guy from EA thinks music games will make a comeback.

Also, Skate games were released on 16-month intervals, which means another 4 months of development time if they took the same route as other games (release, one month off, then work for 10 months before the game gets ready to ship). I have no problem with that release cycle considering each game added stuff without really taking anything away from the previous, so you get the new features to market faster.

So after reading the article again, I don't really appreciate that guy's take on "action sports" games. I think he's confusing arcade games with action sports if he cites NBA Jam as being an action sports game.