Tony Hawk Says New Pro Skater Remasters Will "Turn The Tide" After Some Disappointing Releases

Tony Hawk himself has spoken about the origins of the upcoming Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 remasters and why he thinks the new games will help "turn the tide" of public opinion after the most recent games in the series were poorly received.

Speaking to IGN, Hawk said it was Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick was pitched the idea of the remasters. "We've been having talks over the years of the potential of it, and finally, I literally sat down with Bobby Kotick. We were actually talking about other things in regards to my charity, and he just casually threw out, 'Why don't we remake THPS?'" Hawk recalled. "And I said, 'You don't understand how many people ask me that.' And he said, 'Well, you know, we've had success with a couple of other remasters, so why don't we think about it.'"

In 2017, Activision Blizzard management said more Activision game remasters would likely happen after the gigantic success of the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy. After that game, Activision released the Spyro Reignited Trilogy and Crash Team Racing: Nitro-fueled remaster packages. Additionally, Activision recently launched Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered. On the Blizzard side, the company released a remastered version of Warcraft III, but it was a disappointment.

Also in the interview, Hawk spoke about how excited he was to finally work on remasters of the original Pro Skater games. He said he's constantly asked about remasters, and he's over the moon that they're finally being made. "It was an answer to a call of the hardcore fans," Hawk said.

"When people think of the first games, they have a certain nostalgic view of it. They don't really realise how truly low resolution it was. I truly believe that the hardcore fans of our original series are going to be satisfied and probably overwhelmed by how good this is," he added.

Hawk went on to acknowledge some of the Tony Hawk video game franchise's shortcomings--Pro Skater 5 comes to mind--adding that he believes the Pro Skater 1 + 2 remasters will "turn the tide" as it relates to how people perceive the skateboarding series. "

"We might have had a few missteps doing games in the past, but I think this will really turn the tide. It does take you back to that time. It does take you back to that feeling. And I hope that people embrace it," Hawk said.

The Pro Skater 1 + 2 remasters, which are being developed by Vicarious Visions, are due to launch in September for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. For more, check out an opinion piece below from GameSpot's Michael Higham.

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