Tony Hawks Pro Skater HD Sells 120,000 Units on XBLA

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD sold 120,000 units on Xbox Live Arcade during its first week in release. The game is the 12th in the popular series, and it is currently only purchasable on Xbox as a digital download. The game will be released in late August or early September for the PlayStation 3, and later in the year for Windows.

The sales figures have the executives at Robomodo hoping it is a sign of good things to come. Robomodo’s Josh Tsui was upbeat, when he said, “It should be interesting to see the sales on PC — we’ve been surprised how many people are asking for that.” Tsui indicated that sales were “very consistent day over day.”

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD is a re-boot of the classic Tony Hawk Pro Skater games. Despite mixed reviews, sales have been brisk due to word of mouth in the Xbox 360 community.

The first Tony Hawk game appeared in 1999, when Tony Hawk was the reigning king of modern vertical skateboarding. Hawk is famous for being the first person to land a 900, which he accomplished on July 27, 1999.

There are some advantages to digital skateboarding, as opposed to real life skateboarding. You should be able to avoid broken bones providing you don’t have a large, older sibling who feels it is his right to rip the controller from your hand and toss you head first out the window. Of course, you will also be able to perform tricks that you would never be able to complete in the real world, even if you practice 18 hours a day for 50 years.

While 120,000 copies sold indicate a positive player response, reviews have run the gamut from high praise to total disgust. Destructiod’s Allistair Pinsof, was not pleased with Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD. Pinsof said, “The gravity feels odd, the game is slow, it takes way too long to recover, you’ll frequently glitch out into space after bailing, and encounter lots of frustrating moments due to changes the game made over the originals. Above all, the game just isn’t fun. It’s frustrating.”

Strangely, other reviewers had the exact opposite reaction. G4TV’s Alex Rubens said the game was “a near-perfect HD remake of the classic series.” Cheat Code Central rated the game 90 out of 100 and gave the following review: “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD reminds us why the original THPS games reigned supreme, with its near-perfect control scheme and (for the most part) well designed stages. It does feel admittedly light on content, and there are a few missing pieces that seem like they should have been obvious inclusions. Still, if you want to relive the glory days of the THPS series, fifteen bucks isn’t too much to ask.”

It will be up to the gaming community to have the final say on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD. If Xbox sales continue at their presents levels and the PS3 and PC versions do equally well, the game will be a success, no matter what the critics say. With such a wide range of opinions from the professional reviewers, players will just have to make up their own minds.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD is available for download on the Xbox Live Marketplace for 1,200 points, or about $15.