Electronic Arts’ Skate was one of the big surprises of 2007. Many had challenged Tony Hawk’s dominance of the extreme sports genre, but Skate was the first to really deliver a knockdown punch with its innovative controls. Now, in the face of being outsold two to one, Activision has plans to innovate with the Tony Hawk franchise.

Speaking with USA Today, Activision Senior Vice President Will Kassoy referenced the “Tony Hawk Innovation Plan,” but refused to elaborate. What could this plan be? The easy speculation is a move toward a new control scheme akin to Skate’s. However, with Activision’s success with the Guitar Hero franchise and now Call of Duty 4 online, one should not rule out the move to a more multiplayer friendly setup. And yes, Tony Hawk Wii featuring the Balance Board seems inevitable. (more…)

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Electronic Arts announced in a recent earnings report that Skate outsold Tony Hawk Proving Ground by a nearly two to one margin. That news is both shocking and expected. Shocking in that the Tony Hawk juggernaut was upturned. Expected in that innovation beat out a tired franchise.

Make no mistake, the Tony Hawk franchise has been one of the crown jewels of gaming for years. However, just as with any series that gets turned over once per year, the innovation long ago left the series and has seen marginal improvements at best. In many ways it has mimicked the Madden Football franchise that many berate Electronic Arts for. But wait, how does it make sense that such a stalwart as Electronic Arts are the ones behind the innovative franchise?

Simple, they can afford to make a mistake. For every Madden and Harry Potter franchise, Electronic Arts has moved more and more into original gaming. Yes, Madden is a disappointment as it rarely changes and buying out the NFL exclusivity contract certainly didn’t help EA’s reputation as an innovator. But look beyond that and you will see a company that often takes chances in ways that other companies cannot. (more…)

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