Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD Grinding on to PSN August 28th

Hi everyone. Finally, we can talk about Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD for PS3. We are so grateful for everyone’s patience on this, and we want to make sure you all know that everyone at Robomodo and Activision has been busting their butts to get it out there. Now we can safely announce that after a lot of hard work, sweating and some crying (just a little), the game will be released August 28th on PSN in North America.

Game development is probably the hardest form of entertainment to put together, and making sure a game plays well across different machines is way tougher than anyone can imagine. If there was a “Make PS3” button, we would’ve been tempted to hit that a long time ago. But we wanted to take the time to fix a few things and make sure that the PS3 experience is everything it can be.

The wait has been excruciating for us. We know that the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series has historically been very tightly tied to PlayStation consoles. For me, it was a key game in my career. In 1999 I had just left my first game development job, so I and a few others broke off and started a new studio. The day we left, we were at a friend’s house and he brought out Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater for the original PlayStation. We popped the disk in, and I immediately felt like this was the game the system was made for. There were plenty of other great games on PlayStation, but it felt like Neversoft crafted this one specifically for this hardware. My statement at the time: “I would kill to make a game like this!”

Now fast forward 13 years, and here we are with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD for PS3. It’s the best parts of the first two games in the Pro Skater series combined with the polish and technology of 2012 – and online play. Even better, DLC is coming that includes levels from THPS3, new pros, and the revert! It’s truly a game that we feel brings two generations of players together, and both will feel like it’s “their game.”

By bringing this to the PS3, it really feels like we are bringing both the Tony Hawk series and PlayStation gaming full circle. We can’t wait for you to start playing and destroying each other’s scores! If you find us online, please be gentle.

Here is a full list of features for THPS HD and some info on the upcoming DLC:

• HD Upgrade: We polished and rebuilt the game using Neversoft’s original level models.
• Classic levels: The style and feel of the seven best levels from THPS and THPS2 (Warehouse, School 2, Mall, Phoenix, Hangar, Marseilles and Downhill Jam) refreshed for today. Tony Hawk himself put a call out to his fans on Twitter during the summer of 2011 to decide the final levels. The levels are exactly the same specs as the originals – every gap, SKATE Letter, etc is exactly where you remember it — but it looks a hell of a lot better!
• The Top Pros: Today’s biggest skate pros round out the cast including: Nyjah Huston, Chris Cole, Eric Koston, Andrew Reynolds, Rodney Mullen, Lyn-z Adams Hawkins Pastrana, Riley Hawk and, of course, Tony Hawk himself. Each has eight boards, three special moves, and an alternate outfit.
• Refined controls: The skaters’ animations, tricks and combos reflect the evolution of the THPS games. Animations are improved, the tricks have been redone (and some new special tricks added), and we even added “skater celebrations” for big combos.
• Manuals and Reverts: Read closely! You can do manuals as part of trick combos in THPS HD. Given the fact that this game combines the best gameplay from THPS1 and THPS2, Reverts will not work as part of trick combos in the initial launch of THPS HD, as that mechanic was not introduced until THPS3. However, reverts will work in the post-release DLC for the THPS3 levels, as those levels were originally designed to accommodate this.
• Endlessly fun objectives: Players pursue the same global and level-specific goals as the original games, including S-K-A-T-E, Secret DVD (used to be VHS tape!), and many more.
• Soundtrack: About half classic THPS tracks and half new ones. Includes classics like Goldfinger’s “Superman” and the Anthrax/PE collab “Bring the Noise”.
• Online multiplayer: Four modes (Trick Attack, Graffiti, Big Head Elimination, Free Skate), plus online leaderboards. eight high score leaderboards (one per level plus one all levels combined). “Target Score” included as well, so you can see next highest score for you to beat to move up in the leaderboard in the HUD.
• Downloadable content: Coming post-release, will be three levels from THPS3 (Airport, LA, and Canada) as well as new pros including Steve Caballero. The revert will work in these levels!
• In Game Map View: Pause and see the location of objectives and gaps.
• Over 15 Trophies
• Quick Restart: Select button allows you to quickly restart a session. Perfect for the obsessive gamer who is looking to achieve the perfect combo.
• Facebook Bragging Rights: Friends can see what level you have played and your score in Facebook.