Vicarious Visions' Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 Remake is one of the biggest game releases of September 2020, alongside titles like NBA 2K21 and the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection. According to publisher Activision Blizzard, it has already been a landmark success for the long-running extreme sports series.
The recently-released remake is the fastest game to reach a million units sold across its entire franchise that began with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater in 1999, according to a Tweet put out by Activision Blizzard today. A previous report from GamesIndustry.Biz found that Pro Skater 1 + 2 was outsold by Crystal Dynamics' Marvel's Avengers in regions like the UK, but also that the game sold 448 percent more copies in its first week than 2015's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5.
Series' namesake and professional skateboarder Tony Hawk responded to the announcement Tweet thanking diehard Pro Skater fans who helped inspire the remaster, as "you were the catalyst for all this success." Its success has been more than just monetary, as many critics have lauded Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 in reviews that cite its fun gameplay and well-handled restoration for modern consoles.
While Hawk applauds fans of the series in general for helping to inspire the remaster and contributing to its success, fans have played more of a literal role in putting Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 together as well. Andy Gentile, also known as AndyTHPS, was an avid Pro Skater fan who had the chance to work on titles like Tony Hawk's Underground (2003), and he is now a Senior Designer for Pro Skater 1 + 2. He recently showed off his skills by getting a 100 million combo score live on Twitch.
The release of this remake is not the only attention afforded to the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater franchise in 2020. Last month, the documentary Pretending I'm a Superman: The Tony Hawk Video Game Story released through video on demand and streaming, offering fans further insight into the development of the classic skateboarding series at Neversoft.
Between these releases, as well as the full launch of Easy Day Studios' Skater XL and the announcement of EA's Skate 4, the extreme sports genre is going stronger than it has in quite some time. Given the success of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 Remake so far, it's likely even more titles will be greenlit going forward to keep up that trend.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: GamesIndustry.Biz