Tony Hawk: Ride
Tony Hawk: Ride is a spin-off in the "Tony Hawk's" series of skateboarding video games. In Europe and North America, the game was released in 2009, for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii. In Australia, it was released in 2010. Gameplay. In "Ride", the player uses the skateboard peripheral to simulate the riding of an actual skateboard in the game. The peripheral, shaped just like a real skateboard, is equipped with infrared sensors to detect motion and display it on-screen. Turning, leaning, hopping, and other actions all reflect in the game realistically. Development. In  February 2008, publisher Activision said that the game was undergoing research and testing. The publisher also said at the time that the game would be a "re-engineering [for] the franchise" and said that there would be "a new direction for the brand". Later in May, Activision spoke more about the new game. During a quarterly earnings conference, the company again confirmed that the new game would "deliver the kind of breakthrough this franchise needs". At the same time, Activision confirmed that the new game would not be released in 2008, but was scheduled to be out before their 2010  fiscal year ends. This would put the window of release between April 1, 2009 and March 31, 2010. In December 3, Activision revealed a new motion sensing balance board peripheral that players would "put down the controller, step on the board, and feel the sensation of going big... Shift your weight to turn and balance grinds, kick back on the tail of the board to ollie, and lean into airs to pull off huge spins". The title was revealed to be "Tony Hawk: Ride" in May 2009. The soundtrack is also confirmed, including The Fold with their track "Neverender" and  Green Day's "Murder City". The "Tony Hawk: Ride" game board was designed and engineered by Product council, the Chicago-based design and innovation firm. Reception. "Tony Hawk: Ride" received negative reviews from critics. The Metacritic average score of 46, 44, and 47 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii versions respectively indicates "generally unfavorable reviews". GameTrailers gave "Tony Hawk: Ride" a score 4.6 and named it Most Disappointing Game of 2009, while IGN gave the game a 5.0. Both G4TV and Giant Bomb rated it 1/5. GameSpot gave it a 3.5/10, with the only positive emblem the game  received being that the peripheral was "sturdy". GamesRadar gave the game 4/10. They also named it the worst game of the year, using its skateboard peripheral as the trophy for the "Anti-Awards" feature. Game Informer gave it a 5.75, remarking that "as a skateboarder and as a gamer, "Tony Hawk: Ride" is a curious idea but a letdown in practice. The huge level of frustration is not worth the time it takes to master the awkward gameplay idiosyncrasies". Sales. In the first month of its U.S. release, "Tony Hawk: Ride" sold 114,000 copies. Sequel. Tony Hawk revealed that a  sequel to "Tony Hawk: Ride" was already planned prior to the first game's release in November. Snowboarding and surfing were mentioned as possible priorities. He confirmed that he was working with Robomodo on the sequel in January 2010. Activision Publishing's CEO, Mike Griffith, said that "it took longer to optimize the hardware, leaving less time to optimize the software", when asked about the development of the original game. A new title, "", was revealed in spring 2010. It also used the "Ride" peripheral, but a new design was featured on top of the board.