Tony Hawk Rides the Rails

6/17/2009 4:03 PM | 0 Comments | Page 1 of 3

It was time to rethink the Tony Hawk series. The last two games, according to GameRankings, were no longer scoring in the high 80s. In fact, American Wasteland (which I liked because of its intense story) and Proving Ground (which seemed like the same old, same old) scored 75 percent and 73 percent, respectively.

Activision not only went back to the drawing board for Tony Hawk: Ride, Hawk and Activision also decided to add a cool-looking wireless peripheral to make the experience richer and more real. Hawk demonstrated the add-on and sat down for a one-on-one chat with Crispy Gamer at E3 2009.

Crispy Gamer: What's your first memory of skateboarding?

Tony Hawk: My first memory of skating, well, was not really skating on a skateboard. It was in my driveway. My brother had an old board, and I asked if I could try it. I just went down the driveway. I was yelling at him, "How do I steer this thing?!"

Crispy Gamer: Did you fall off?

Hawk: No. I went straight, all the way to the end of the driveway. Then, I physically picked it up, turned it around, and went back the other way.

Crispy Gamer: There was no fear.

Hawk: I immediately liked it.

Crispy Gamer: What would you say your biggest accomplishment in the sport has been?

Hawk: I think, in the big picture, it's making a career out of it. It just really wasn't an option or a dream, when I was a kid, that anyone could do this for a living. Specifically, I think a lot of people associate me with landing the first 900 (revolving in the air two and a half times) in the X Games in 1999. That was a huge bonus for me, for sure. I had tried it on and off for 10 years. That put a really high note to the end of my competitive career. Ever since then, I've just been skating all the time at exhibitions and making videogames.

Crispy Gamer: Was it difficult to bring this sport to the masses? Were there obstacles along the way?

Hawk: It wasn't really my goal. But I always realized that there was more to the sport than people were seeing. People were more focused on hairdos and outfits and not the whole act of skating. I think that through not quitting, and skating through really adverse times, and still eking out a living while doing it, taught me a lot about what I wanted to do with my life and how much I really enjoyed skateboarding. I got a few opportunities along the way and really put my heart and soul into them, like videogames. I feel we really represented skating well. The fact that the videogame was good helped to really explode the industry as a whole.

Crispy Gamer: When you say "adverse," you mean what?

Hawk: Financially and just dealing with a lot of naysayers. People didn't think skating was cool. People didn't think you should be doing it past the age of 18. I just pressed on because I felt like doing it so much. I just couldn't quit. Even if I had to find another job, I was still going to skate.