Here’s a nostalgia inducing list of skateboard games
Hell, even if you are not looking for an electric longboard and you’re here by accident you’ve still probably played an skateboard game! from Tony hawk to the Simpson’s they’re has been a variety of skateboard games over the last 20 years, lets delve in and get nostalgic.
It all began on the Atari back in the late 80s
Skate boardin’ (Atari 2600 VCS, 1987)
Indeed one of the very first, if not the first skateboarding game, made by absolute entertainment. Hilariously so old that skateboarding was not used as single term at that point “skateboarding”.
However, kudos to anyone who is the first despite the poor graphics.
Some more info here on skate boardin’
Time to change console and upgrade a to the first REAL mainstream console, sadly for me I am old enough to remember the late nights playing this in my pyjamas, however I was more of a Mario or Zelda player back in the day.’
Town & country surf designs: Wood & Water (NES-1988)
The titles a bit of mouthful, eh?
We thought one of the early skateboard titles on the NES was worth a mention? Anyone play this?
10/10 for nostalgia!
Skate or Die! (NES & PC 1988)
Probably the first title we’re mentioning that you may briefly recollect, Skate or Die one of the members in the EARLY skateboard game hall of fame.
If you love the retro scene and have never played this, check it out, its so typically indicative of the Retro era its amusing.
More info on Skate or Die
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (Multiple Platforms, 1999)
The first major mainstream skateboard game, featuring no other than the world renown Tony Hawk
I remember playing this on Playstation 1 back in the day
This game really started the skateboard game movement and SMASHED IT IN THE REVIEWS
enough said.
Grind Session (PlayStation, 2000)
This is a 3rd person skate anywhere type get up, its worth mentioning, but not quite as good as some of its competitors in this era in my opinion, however it did feature some of the pro’s: Daewon song, Ed Templeton, Cara Burnside.
It was however a Skateboard game that the critics loved, check out the review
ESPN X-Games Skateboarding (PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, 2001)
Swiftly moving to the next generation now and its an ESPN game, unlike previous releases this version featured skateboarding only.
X-games got mixed review and did live up to the hype or compared to games such as Tony Hawk’s pro skater 3.
Although one thing that was pretty cool, is it did feature a soundtrack from Linkin park.
Review by Gamespot
Skate (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Mobile, 2007)
Jumping forward on to yet another generation it brings us to nearly now in terms of graphics.
After Tony Hawk had dominated the skateboarding market, Skate was finally a title to stand up to the big bully Hawk.
Skate also had a note-worthy online mode.
The most important this to say about Skate is got rad reviews, click here for Gamespots full review
Shaun White Skateboarding (PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, PC, 2010)
Shaun White is super well known for snowboarding, it turns out this dude is multi-talented. His renown for his Skateboarding tricks and contest victories- so he got his very own video game, woo hoo!
Sadly it received a less than average review, here’s IGN’s take.
Ps- if you’re real life skater check out our post on safety.
Tony Hawk’s PRO SKATER 5, (Playstation 4 September 2015)
Sadly this game was destroyed by the critics, we were hoping the first leap into the generation of today would have been a big one, sadly not.
Check out the review by Eurogamer
Check out our post Riding an electric skateboard like a Ninja for inspiration.
Ohh one I missed….
The Simpsons Skateboarding, (Playstation 2002)
It turns out Springfield has been converted into a Skatepark for the annual Skate tour.
All the voices in the game were recorded by the actual actors.
However The Simpsons Skateboarding received a painfully low score on metacritic of 38/100
Playing games really is no substitute for the real thing, although we all like to chill with a good game in front of the TV now and then and I had some great times playing some of these titles.
Magneto over and out.