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I expect that in addition to playing games like Skate. and Tony Hawks Proving Ground that you also skate in real life?

In reflection of this fact, I have launched the SkaterGeek Store which allows you to buy Skateboarding products at great prices.

Head over to the store and pick yourself up a deck or some new trucks so that when your thumbs are hurting from too much button mashing (on THPG) you can get out in the sunshine and pull off some real tricks.

The press release we have ALL been waiting for has finally hit the streets in the usual EA “all - and nothing” style.

Skate 2 is coming! 

The facts as we know it are:

• Skate2 will be developed for the PS3 and Xbox 360
• Skate2 is “in development” - no firm information as yet
• Skate It will be released for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii
• Skate It WILL feature the use of the Nintendo Wii Fit Balance Board
• Skate It will be released in 2008

Here is the EA Press Release in full:

GAMERS SKATE BACK INTO ACTION… THIS TIME ON NINTENDO WII AND DS
‘Skate It’ Delivers Popular Flickit Controls and Introduces Support for Wii Balance Board to Deliver Unique Skateboarding Experience

GUILDFORD, UK. – May 12, 2008 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced Skate It, a new game in the award-winning Skate franchise that taps into the heart and soul of being on a skateboard. Designed exclusively for the Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ systems, Skate It has Nintendo players riding with the skate pros, owning the best spots in San Vanelona and pulling off the sickest tricks using the popular FlickIt controls. Loaded with all-new gameplay features, Skate It breaks new ground by introducing innovative support for the Wii Balance board which gives players a fresh way to create their own signature skateboarding style.

“We knew it would be an exciting challenge to bring the soul and feel of skateboarding to the Wii and Nintendo DS,” said Scott Blackwood, Executive Producer - Skate franchise. “With fresh new designs and gameplay components built from scratch, we’ve been able to, once again, capture the true experience of skateboarding in a completely innovative way.”

Skate It unleashes the FlickIt revolution on to the Nintendo platforms, letting gamers use the Wii remote or the Nintendo DS stylus to string together their best tricks for the ultimate skate line. The Wii remote becomes a skateboard and reacts to gestures that mirror actual skate flips and moves. Players can also deepen this experience by planting their feet on the Wii Balance board. Skate It brings the hit Skate franchise to a new level of creative ingenuity and gameplay excellence.

Skate It will ship in 2008. The game has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

Separately, Skate 2 is also currently in development for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system.

About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA™, EA SPORTS BIG™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2007, EA posted revenue of $3.09 billion and had 24 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA’s homepage and online game site is www.electronicarts.co.uk. More information about EA’s products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at www.electronicarts.co.uk/press.

EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG and POGO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. PLAYSTATION is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Microsoft, Xbox and Xbox 360 are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Nintendo DS and the Wii are trademarks of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

The internet monster that is Kotaku is running a post that refers to a (now removed under threat of ninja-lawyer-death) mention by EA via IGN that a product called “Skate It” is in the works.

Skate It will be a “spin off” game for the Nintendo DS and Wii with the possiblity of support for the new Wii-fit Balance Board too.

I suggest they read my Skate DS posting for ideas, then turn the Wii-Mote into a fingerboard and let us play like that!

Got any good tips for EA Skate or any of the Tony Hawk series of games?

Either leave a comment below or head over to the Contact Me link on the left and let me know!

An excellent, all out, balls to the grindstone, full speed technical smash of EA Skate action.

It’s a little “Hawk” at times - but great stuff!

I am not sure how long this offer has been on the Amazon site but you can get EA Skate and  Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground for the Xbox 360 for the grand sum of £45.93 in the UK and $109.98 in the US!

Considering I paid about £40 just for EA Skate when that came out last year - it’s a pretty good deal.

Click the images below to go to the Amazon page for more information on each product and to buy the items together.

Avinash Bali of the Tech2 blog recently got to speak to some of the head honchos at EA’s meet the makers event in Singapore.

Amongst other questions about forthcoming EA games, he dropped the question about the possibility of a Skate 2 announcement coming soon:

I asked him what plans he had for Skate since (a) it was very well received; and (b) there’s no way in hell EA’s letting a successful game get away that easily.

Once again, he gave me that smug smile and said that the guys back at Black Box would kill him if he said anything. But there was something about his smile that said “Yes we’re working on one but I can’t talk about it or they’ll kill my family”. So yeah, I’m guessing we can expect a “formal announcement” in the near future.

As can be expected, with the recent announcements that Activision will be evolving the Tony Hawk franchise in the wake of the sales information versus Skate - EA will be keeping anything to do with Skate 2 close to its chest until an announcement is made.

I suspect that we will see a similar game to Skate but with more customisation, dynamic environments including weather effects and also the ability to get off the board - which the majority of people are asking for!

Via Tech2.com 

The GDC 2008 in San Francisco finished just over a week ago and left us drooling after getting more concrete details for franchise updates such as Gears Of War 2 and Mario Kart Wii.

But where was Skate 2?

Where was the tech demo showing some new stuff like getting off the board and night/day weather effects?

Ok, Skate was only released late last year, but still, in the traditional EA method of churning out yearly release after yearly release (and slowly making the games worst each time) we should be getting some Skate 2 news on our radar any week now!

If you read between the lines, does this mean that Skate 2 will become Skate 2009? Or is EA waiting to see/hear about the next version of the Tony Hawk franchise?

After all, they know they are beat and will come out of the corner fighting!

Just came across this link for the EA Skate Spots Guide whilst lurking in the forums over at Skatethis.net.

It’s a site dedicated to just showing the “Own the spots” areas within EA Skate.
You can also upload your own footage or images of those spots!

Nice site!

Although my 360 currently has the Red Ring of Death, my brain is still in skate mode and therefore I present 2 EA Skate Tips.

1. Get more speed

If you were wondering how to jump that gap that you can’t quite make it over, or get top speed for doing a coffin down the hills, follow this tip.

As you are pressing the button to push your skate along, press UP at the same time on the left analog stick. This will lean your body forward slightly - as you do when pumping transition - and will make you go faster. You can also hold the left analog stick forward as you push, but I find that this does not give as much speed and also makes it hard to control your skater.

2. Land that jump

A tip I picked up reading the EA Skate page over at helpmewithmygameproblems.com.

To land a huge drop, grab your board using one of the triggers just before you land. Timing is everything on this one. Go practice off a huge ledge! Make sure you set a marker first though.

Has anyone else got a tip they would like to share?

Either contact me or post in the comments below and we can create a massive list.