Skate 3 News Post

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

05:10 PM - December 1, 2010 by Steve_OS

According to a recent interview, over at Kotaku, it seems skateboarding has run its course as a top video game format.

What are your thoughts? Is it time to scrap these games? What can they do to make the games better?

Quote:


	"The heyday of skateboarding games is past, the head of EA, the company that makes Tony Hawk rival franchise Skate, told Kotaku in an interview this week. EA chief John Riccitiello, whose company's Skate series has been regarded as the better skateboarding video game series in the last few years, sees skateboarding as part of a bigger group of games he thinks will stick around. "When it comes to action sports, I think that's going to be an an ongoing exciting genre," Riccitiello said during an interview in New York City. "But at least for the level of excitement out there, skateboarding seems to have run its course as the representative example in that broader genre."

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# 1 Blzer @ 12/01/10 05:26 PM

In some ways I agree. Don't get me wrong, Skate 3 is the greatest skateboarding game ever made... but why did they have to pound out three of them in under three years of time? What's their driving force besides money? They would have earned so much more if they spent two - three years in between these games and released them then.

I don't know what more they can do to be honest, but I trust them to do the right thing. The best thing IMO is for them to release Skate 4 no earlier than Q3 2012, maybe even later. There's no need for a new one right now.

Oh, and the best thing for these games is to stay on the classic controllers. No big boards, no motion controls. That's just moving to a new parallel, not "improving" IMO.

# 2 jyoung @ 12/01/10 05:34 PM

The problem is that game companies are still trying to treat "action sports" titles like they are any other yearly sports release.

The yearly release model just isn't sustainable for action sports games.

People will still buy these games if they are good and bring something innovative to the market (see, Skate 1), but as long as they are mostly rehashed sequels (Skate 2, Skate 3), they will sit on store shelves and wind up in the bargain bin.

# 3 GrandMaster B @ 12/01/10 05:48 PM

They need to get rid of the single player story/career mode in these skateboard games that give you tedious and boring tasks and make into like a open world/city multi-player where you can just skate around with 15 or 23 other people or whatever you can fit at once so it runs smooth and let people just mess around. You could have competitions posted throughout the game world to compete online against others and have a park creator. That's it. keep it simple. In the end, I think people just want to skate around and do tricks without having to complete goals to advance to another area.

# 4 Gotmadskillzson @ 12/01/10 06:09 PM

I agree......there is no need for a skateboard game to be released EVERY year. They need to release it every 2 or 3 years. Have a career mode and just an open world mode where as if you want run a tournament or just hang out with 35 other gamers online, you can.

Enable voice chat in there and you would have a sure fire hit.

# 5 Blzer @ 12/01/10 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrandMaster B


	They need to get rid of the single player story/career mode in these skateboard games that give you tedious and boring tasks and make into like a open world/city multi-player where you can just skate around with 15 or 23 other people or whatever you can fit at once so it runs smooth and let people just mess around. You could have competitions posted throughout the game world to compete online against others and have a park creator. That's it. keep it simple. In the end, I think people just want to skate around and do tricks without having to complete goals to advance to another area.

There's nothing wrong with the "story mode" for a game like Skate, because aside from unlocking gear, boards, and accessories, everything else is open and available for you. It's not like tricks and locations are locked unlike THPS (or GTA for that matter), you can still do what you're asking to do.

I actually like that tedious stuff, it's an incentive to play lol. I just wish they didn't release them so closely in succession. I didn't ever pick up Skate 2 for that very reason (and that the location was the same).

# 6 JohnDoe8865 @ 12/01/10 08:54 PM

I'm ready for SSX. We haven't had an SSX game in 5+ years. It's time. But do it right. A new SSX every year won't work, the same way a new skateboarding game or new ATV type game won't work.

# 7 Bellsprout @ 12/01/10 08:58 PM

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

# 8 spit_bubble @ 12/01/10 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve_OS


	What are your thoughts? Is it time to scrap these games? What can they do to make the games better?

I was lovin' Skate 3 until it started freezing on me every 20 minutes in create-a-park, and considering Skate 2 was essentially an add on to Skate, the word "quality" comes to mind.

But really there's not much you can do with a skating game, except build new places to skate in. This will satisfy the small core of people interested in buying a skating game, but it's hardly something that will help gain an audience.

As noted by others in this thread, letting more time pass between releases might have helped, but I'm not sure how much.

# 9 BlackRome @ 12/01/10 10:14 PM

I left this platform years ago. The skateboards never did it for me but I loved the snowboarding games.

I haven't seen one great snowboarding game on any of the next generation systems.

# 10 1WEiRDguy @ 12/02/10 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blzer


	In some ways I agree. Don't get me wrong, Skate 3 is the greatest skateboarding game ever made... but why did they have to pound out three of them in under three years of time? What's their driving force besides money? They would have earned so much more if they spent two - three years in between these games and released them then. I don't know what more they can do to be honest, but I trust them to do the right thing. The best thing IMO is for them to release Skate 4 no earlier than Q3 2012, maybe even later. There's no need for a new one right now. Oh, and the best thing for these games is to stay on the classic controllers. No big boards, no motion controls. That's just moving to a new parallel, not "improving" IMO.

totally agree...oversaturation is the main problem...visually skate 3 was not improved over skate 2...and in all honestly, it felt more like dlc. Dont get me wrong, I loved the new "create a brand" feature, but it was little small things like the online creator that really didnt show any innovation to a game that rightfully deserves it.

Im not a skateboard purist by any stretch of the imagination, but even as a casual gamer, Skate 3 just felt rushed. Some of the major glitches still carried over from Skate 2, but thats what happens when you money grab. If by some chance they release a skate in 2011, i will not buy it, just like i didnt buy 3. Take a year off and get back to the basics. Thats what got you there.

Skateboarding should not follow the same path as the Rock Bands and Guitar Heros of the world...you dont need bi annual or annual releases and shove people with so much that eventually, they wont buy it at all.

# 11 Blzer @ 12/02/10 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1WEiRDguy


	Skateboarding should not follow the same path as the Rock Bands and Guitar Heros of the world...you dont need bi annual or annual releases and shove people with so much that eventually, they wont buy it at all.

Actually, even those were hammered to the ground way too quickly. I think Guitar Hero 2 came out at about the good time, but I don't think anyone else should have picked up the Guitar Hero name and Rock Band should have just did their first bit, then released DLC for about three years before Rock Band 2 came out. The way I see it, Rock Band 3 also should not have come out until about 2012 as well, pro instruments and all.

# 12 Whitesox @ 12/02/10 07:06 PM

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.

# 13 Blzer @ 12/02/10 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whitesox


	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.

# 14 Whitesox @ 12/02/10 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blzer


	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.

# 15 Blzer @ 12/02/10 08:43 PM

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.

# 16 Whitesox @ 12/02/10 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blzer


	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.

# 17 Blzer @ 12/02/10 10:18 PM

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.

# 18 Whitesox @ 12/02/10 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blzer


	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.

# 19 Shinyhubcaps @ 12/03/10 05:45 PM

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.

# 20 LionsFanNJ @ 12/04/10 12:52 AM

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.

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