Getting On Board With Tony Hawk’s New Peripheral

In our last Trendsetters column, Mark blasted the ongoing requirement for some games needing unruly big lumps of plastic. No, we’re not talking about games being on the PS3, rather companies releasing games with new peripherals, something that’s got worse with the announcement of Tony Hawk: Ride as a skateboard joins the list of new controllers.

However, as ever much as people are complaining about another waste of space in the living room, the drastic move to motion controls could be for the best for the series, abut really it’s in the best interests of the game’s publisher, Activision.

It’s no secret that the Tony Hawk series has grown stale: from 1999 to 2007, the main series had a game released every year – and although the series was still getting respectable reviews, the games were getting a bit more wild and were facing intense competition in terms of creativity in 2007 with the release of EA’s Skate which brought a breath of fresh air to the genre.
After 9 games in a row developed by Neversoft, it’s fair to say that the franchise has been milked. In fact, it’s been milked so much, Neversoft wore the teats of the cash cow away, and have since been convicted of misconduct and as a punishment sentenced to develop Guitar Hero titles for the rest of eternity, as every single genre, year and band has their own edition because there is somebody out there who will buy Guitar Hero Rocks Aqua.

So, Robomodo have been put in control of the Tony Hawk farm, and have taken the decision to add a plastic skateboard as the controller for the game. It may seem like a bit of a needless thing, though consider this: Skate has got standard controls done beautifully, and it’s better for Activision to try something new than just copy another game (although they’re really good at that too, copying Cooking Mama to make Science Papa. Shameless). How about using the Wii Balance Board? Well, for one, that limits your platforms to release on, and also it’s nice to see something different instead of just trying to top the balance board controls of Shaun White Snowboarding. Perhaps they could have just tried to make a good, simple fantasy skating game like the series is known for, but the motion control is a brave move which could go either way.

It won’t be the first time the series has tried to use the power of movement, as in November last year Activision released Tony Hawk’s Motion on Nintendo DS. Don’t remember it? No surprise, the game was released and then promptly forgotten about by everybody. So don’t be surprised if you hear statements from Activision claiming that it’s the first ever Tony Hawk game with motion sensing capabilities. They’re already said that it is “a massive step forward for the franchise and the gaming industry as a whole”, and previously claimed that Guitar Hero: World Tour was the first ever band game. It’s rumoured that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick also believes they invented 3D, buttons and marshmallows.

The success of the world’s first band game, Guitar Hero, is one of the things that means that the choice for a peripheral makes some sense. Activision claims that the franchise is only the 3rd ever in history to reach $2 Billion in sales, following Mario and Madden. Sales for Guitar Hero titles have been phenomenal in America, especially on the casual friendly Wii. Bobby Kotick said he wanted the franchise to be “exploited”, and even if Tony Hawk’s can’t be in the same way, there’s financial viability behind it.

For one, there’s the cost of peripherals. People believe they cost more, so more can be charged, even if it didn’t cost that much to produce – increasing the profit margins. It’s a strategy with an element of risk behind it though, because the higher cost can put people off (as happened to Rock Band, originally costing £180 in Europe). This is especially relevant considering that American retailers currently have the price for Tony Hawk Ride at a whopping $120, a price that’s worse considering the fact you’re only going to have one game that supports it: and if they do another (which is no guarentee), it’ll be in a year’s time. This risk could be the reason that 2 Activision bosses have just dumped $60 Million in stock, according to Kotaku.

But there is a slight bright point on sales: piracy. Although games in the Guitar Hero franchise can be pirated, consider when Guitar Hero: On Tour first came out on DS. It had to be played with a peripheral you could only get with the game, at retail. Sure, not everybody who would pirate it would purchase the game, but there is the chance of a few more sales, especially when piracy is an increasing problem for the industry. With Tony Hawk Ride, you’re going to have to pay out for a lump of plastic you’ll probably end up falling off and breaking your coffee table. As much as the Pirate Bay believe they can do anything, a torrent file for the board is something you won’t see on the site.

Tony Hawk Ride isn’t going to be a sure-fire success: perception of the product and price are 2 significant issues for it: and perhaps it would be better for the game to be developed through the team coming up with new, creative ideas then being market focussed – though when considering the other various influences such as Guitar Hero, even Wii Fit, and the reduced piracy for the game, it’s not so nonsensical after all.