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Tony Hawk says Ride was 'a bit rushed,' still thinks critics didn't give his board a chance
Even after all this time, Tony Hawk's stance is firm regarding the poorly received Shred and Ride games. He thinks critics made up their mind before giving the games and associated peripheral an honest chance -- even in the case of Ride, which he admits "was a bit rushed" due to time spent prototyping the board.
Peripheral price-drop madness: Guitar Hero, DJ Hero, and Tony Hawk bundles for 10 bucks
Toys R Us has decided that all peripherals must go, and in order to clear the shelves as quickly as possible, a ridiculous number of DJ Hero, Tony Hawk, and Guitar Hero bundles for all systems have been marked down to $9.99. If you've just got too darn much free space in your living room, make the jump for the full list of store-only mega-deals. We recommend getting a swift move on, however; even with these franchises functionally dead, we don't expect this stuff to hang around for long. [Thanks, Teeftwo!]
Activision: 'No new music or skateboarding games' this year
The grim fates of True Crime and whatever installment of the Guitar Hero series that was in development are known -- but what about Activision's other perennial franchises? A few (equally grim) details surfaced during Activision's investor's call today, during which COO Thomas Tippl explained, "We will release no new music or skateboarding games" during the current calendar year. Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg added some more insight into the company's shift away from the music genre, explaining that even though DJ Hero 2 and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock were well-received, "demand for peripheral-based music games declined at a dramatic pace." He continued, "Given the considerable licensing and manufacturing costs associated with this genre, we simply cannot make these games profitably based on current economics and demand." However, Activision will continue to support its existing music games with DLC. We're still left with a lot of questions, though (and we're working on the answers). For instance, what does this mean for the 3DS-bound DJ Hero 3D? What about the Tony Hawk series at large? Activision's frequently spoken about its staying power -- and if no Hawk title drops in 2011, it would be the first calendar year in the franchise's history without a new entry since 1999.
Activision still pushing Shred, believes Tony Hawk (the man) has staying power
Tony Hawk Shred's bad start at retail still has Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, doing damage control. In a recent interview with IndustryGamers, the executive stated that Tony Hawk, as a figure, has "relevance and tremendous appeal for people." Hirshberg described him as a "lasting icon," and explained that the company needs to make "smart moves in terms of innovation to see if [it] can recapture people's imaginations" with the game franchise. While Hirshberg feels it's too early to say that Shred fell crotch first onto the metal handrail it was trying to grind, Activision will "keep the pedal to the metal" through the holiday season, hoping to score a hit with kids and potential gift-givers. Clearly that Vans boost across the asphalt (proper metaphor!) does not include any focus on making sure the game gets reviewed and placed on Metacritic. Developed by hard-hit Robomodo, it has only one professional review listed across three platforms. NPD results will be out this Thursday, so we'll see then if Tony Hawk Shred picked up from the 3,000 sales it had in October. %Gallery-99321%
Activision hopes for Tony Hawk Shred sales turnaround over the holidays
It's been a sad story for Tony Hawk Shred, which managed to move a miniscule amount of product -- 3,000 units in its first week, to be exact. Despite marketing efforts such as putting Al Roker on a board and letting him go to town, it would seem that Tony Hawk Shred is bound to the same fate as Tony Hawk Ride. But with the holiday gift-buying season in full swing, Activision has hopes it'll see "a bigger ramp-up" in sales as the holiday season progresses. In talking to Gamasutra, Activision's CEO of publishing, Eric Hirshberg, admits that the company needs to "build awareness" for the title -- Hirschberg says Shred was selected as one of the top 12 holiday gifts on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (worked for Kinect!) and is banking on that exposure -- but attributed some of the sequel's lack of commercial success to the fact that, for the first time in franchise history, it's solely being marketed to kids. It's also "a gift-oriented game," he said, which plays into Activision's hopes that more units will fly off the shelves as consumers get to shopping. For the full interview, a majority of which talks about Call of Duty: Black Ops, hit up the source link below.
Tony Hawk: Shred wobbles first week at retail
In a video game's lifetime, the first-week sales are often the most crucial, representing some of biggest numbers a publisher will ever see for a game. That's why Robomodo's second peripheral-based Tony Hawk title, Shred, seems to have gotten off to a grim start, selling just 3,000 copies in its first week at retail. Speaking with GI.Biz, Investment firm Cowen and Company detailed October's North American retail showings (following yesterday's NPD report) and pointed out that another Activision October release, DJ Hero 2, moved 59,000 copies in its first two weeks of availability. For comparison's sake, those aren't huge sales for DJ Hero 2, but it nearly 20 times more than Shred. These numbers are perhaps least surprising to Shred's developer, Robomodo; the developer cut staff last month and is said to be off the Tony Hawk franchise.
Al Roker: Shred
During a visit to the Today Show, Tony Hawk advised risk-taking dream-seekers to "stay true to what you love doing, because you'll make it -- and it'll be great." Behind him, wobbling atop the Shred board, Al Roker realized that he had in fact veered dangerously off course from his chosen path.
Tony Hawk Shred gives you an olly taste at your local mall
Anxious to try your hands feet at Robomodo's next game? Activision has announced a mall tour for Tony Hawk Shred, where it'll bring the upcoming game to 10 of the biggest malls in the country, starting this weekend on through the end of the year. Sure, you could sit on your couch and just wait until the game launches on October 26, go to a store and buy it, but where's the fun in that? Oh, right, it's a video game. Those are pretty fun, we hear. Lapses in logic aside, if you like your video game-based entertainment to be more on the free and supervised side, head past the break for the list of participating malls. Happy shredding!
Robomodo lays off unspecified number of staff, leads remain
The ride has ended for some Robomodo staffers. The developer behind Tony Hawk Ride and the soon-to-be-released Tony Hawk Shred has let go of an unspecified number of employees, according to the following statement from president Josh Tsui: "It is always difficult to let hard-working and valued employees go. Robomodo has retained all of the company's directors and leads, along with other staff members. All are busy working on future projects and ideas, which will become the innovative games of tomorrow. We hope to bring back some of our team as we ramp up on our next projects."Again, we don't know how many were let go, but a source speaking with Joystiq suggested upwards of 30 would be affected. Of course, this is likely partially attributable to work wrapping on Shred, but our hearts still go out to those who'll have to start the morning off with a job hunt.
Tony Hawk Shreds October 26, Toys R Us to sell exclusive board
Activision's second attempt at peripheral-based skateboarding will be available in stores on October 26th. Tony Hawk Shred promises "Big Air! Bigger Tricks!' in a more kid-friendly approach to the franchise. Keeping in line with the game's younger vibe, it's fitting that Activision has partnered up with Toys R Us on an exclusive version of the board-and-game bundle. For $99, you'll get a copy of the game and a board featuring one of "Tony's custom Birdhouse graphics." Of course, if you still have your Tony Hawk Ride board, you can opt to reuse that for the sequel.
Preview: Tony Hawk Shred
After the critical (and financial) flop that was Tony Hawk Ride, it's hard not to ask one question about its followup: Why? Well, it's because there was a niche audience that actually liked the game. According to an Activision representative, the company discovered that the peripheral-based skateboarding game resonated most with children. Kids were able to overlook the game and board's shortcomings -- inconsistent gameplay, uninspired art, its inaccurate recreation of the sport. Recognizing this, developers Robomodo and Buzz Monkey have transformed Tony Hawk Shred into a colorful, kid-friendly, arcade experience. It may not necessarily appeal to older gamers, but I have a feeling that kids will have a lot of fun with Shred.%Gallery-99320%
Rumor: Tony Hawk: Shred will include snowboarding
Tony Hawk: Shred is an actual thing that's coming, this much Activision itself confirmed. And we have it on good authority from our Joystiq Superspy™ that the latest game to bear the Tony Hawk name will not only let gamers shred pavement, but also some fresh powder: the game will incorporate snowboarding -- a first for the traditionally skateboarding-only series. It's been a tough time for the Tony Hawk series lately. Tony Hawk: Ride, which introduced a plastic peripheral, didn't do so well. And with competition from EA's Skate series, as well as newcomer Shaun White Skateboarding emerging on the scene, it's not going to be easy for Shred to stand out from the competition. We're expecting to hear more on Shred at E3 next week. We'll let you know what we find out.
Tony Hawk: Shred confirmed by Activision
Thanks to a since-deleted Tweet from the skateboarding mogul himself, the name Tony Hawk: Shred has been making the rounds as the rumored title for the next game in the venerable skating series. Now, Activision's made it official, telling us, "We can confirm we've given a name to the next Tony Hawk game – Tony Hawk: SHRED, and more details will be revealed in the coming months." What we don't know is if TH:S is the peripheral-based follow-up to last year's Tony Hawk: Ride that Activision threatened promised in February. It seems like a natural evolution, right? "Hey Steve, you seem to be riding that skateboard pretty well, but aren't you ready to do more than ride? Would you, perhaps, be prepared to shred?" (Also, as our own Ludwig Kietzmann points out, Tony Hawk: Shrek would probably make a lot more money.)
