Skateboarding has been around for decades, and the most recognized skateboarder is Tony Hawk. Hawk founded his own skateboard company, Birdhouse, in 1992. Hawk was the first to complete the “900” (two and a half rotation spin) during the 1999 summer X Games. On top of pushing the sport forward with tricks never done before, Hawk has inspired many kids and adults by doing what he loves as a career.

   The same year as landing the 900, Hawk came out with his video game, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, on PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Dreamcast, N-Gage, and Game Boy. Developers included Neversoft, Treyarch, Natsume, and Ideaworks Game Studio. The game sold over 5.3 million copies by 2007 and helped inspire the next generation of skateboarders by showing the level of creativity and freedom you have while skateboarding. Twenty years after the release of Hawk’s first game, Tony Hawk pro skater 1+2  was released on September 4, 2020. The new version of this game is anticipated to sell at least 5 million copies worldwide if not more. 

   The user friendly game has around 19 different maps which can be virtually skated for hours on end. The free skate option allows for unlimited creativity in any of the locations, from riding around San Francisco to skating a 360º ramp in Mexico, made famous by Hawk himself. Each map consists of different terrain and features unique to the area. For example, the hangar map includes planes and helicopters which the user can do tricks over that result in a maximum amount of points. 

   Another feature of the game is players can choose from a select group of professional skaters from around the world to explore each map and try new tricks. This includes legends such as Eric Koston, Bob Burnquist, Steve Caballero, Tony Hawk himself and newer professionals, for instance Nyjah Huston who is a 10 time X game gold medalist. 

   Overall the remastered version of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 + 2 is a classic reimaged, with hours of unique gameplay and creativity. Although this game was released during a pandemic, it could produce a new generation of skateboarders, as the original game did over 20 years ago.