Tony Hawk Rides Studio to Layoffs

[Tom Goldman]

Tony Hawk Rides Studio to Layoffs

All the kickflips in the world couldn't stop Tony Hawk studio Robomodo from laying off staff.

Things are looking bleak at independent studio Robomodo after rumors were confirmed that it was forced to lay off staff. Known for Tony Hawk: Shred [http://www.amazon.com/PS3-Tony-Hawk-Skateboard-Playstation-3/dp/B0029TQUW2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1286987947&sr=8-3], it's been revealed that these will be the last titles Robomodo will produce featuring the popular skateboarder.

When Robomodo took over the long-running Tony Hawk franchise to add a life-sized skateboard peripheral in Tony Hawk: Ride, it didn't go so well. Though sales were said to be adequate, reviews were so bad that they pissed off Tony Hawk [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/96594-Tony-Hawk-Pissed-About-TH-Ride-Reviews].

Robomodo president Josh Tsui recently confirmed the layoffs while telling Gamasutra: "It is always difficult to let hard-working and valued employees go. Robomodo has retained all of the company's directors and leads, along with other staff members. All are busy working on future projects and ideas, which will become the innovative games of tomorrow."

Tsui also said he hopes to bring some of the team back in the future. It's common for game developers to let staff go as they change from project to project, so what these layoffs truly indicate isn't clear. However, if Ride did well and Shred was expected to shred itself, it wouldn't be crazy for Activision to keep the franchise at Robomodo as it did with Neversoft through the first nine or so entries.

Though Ride was an innovative idea, its high retail cost and fun-factor may not have been enough to justify future development. The question now is where Tony Hawk will go, because I seriously doubt Activision is done riding that gravy skateboard.

Source: Gamasutra [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/30935/Layoffs_At_Robomodo_Amid_Uncertain_PostShred_Future.php]

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[Aura Guardian]

The Controls were the downfall for Tony Hawk Ride. If (for the Wii version) they used the Balance Board like Skate It did...it probably would have been better. Oh well. That's what happens when bad games don't sell.

 

[Celtic_Kerr]

People have been telling Tonk Hawk forever: Stop adding features to your videogames. Alot of my friends are avid skateboarders and when they play the games, they say "Wow, I'm glad I can board, a newcomer would be fucked at trying to pull all this shit off." If you keep piling shit onto your games, you're pushing new comers from the market. I loved american Wasteland. It was simple, but great. They've simply turned their games into a complex mess and since no one new is entering their market, no one wants to buy the game.

 

[Irridium]

Well at least they tried something relatively new with the board.

Shame it sucked. I used to play the hell out of the PS1 Tony Hawk games. Those were fun.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Well at least they tried something relatively new with the board.

Shame it sucked. I used to play the hell out of the PS1 Tony Hawk games. Those were fun.

If you have a DS, I recommend American Sk8land.

Surprisingly good. Even has ACTUAL music, too.

 

[CK76]

Miss the days of Neversoft and the first 4 games.

 

[dannymc18]

Tony, I beg you to grab control your brand.

I beg you: enough of the plastic skateboards.

Enough of the realism.

Enough of the 'proper' skateboarding game.

Bring back the insanity, bring back the wackiness, bring back the pick up and play multiplayer sessions.

I couldn't give a rat's about realistic skating.

Nobody I know gives a rat's about realistic skating.

Realistic skaters have Skate for the realisic skating.

So Tony, I beg of you:

BRING BACK NEVERSOFT.

BRING BACK OUR THPS!!

 

[Scobie]

DELETED

 

[Upbeat Zombie]

I stopped caring after project 8.

 

[Tom Goldman]

Tony, I beg you to grab control your brand.

I beg you: enough of the plastic skateboards.

Enough of the realism.

Enough of the 'proper' skateboarding game.

Bring back the insanity, bring back the wackiness, bring back the pick up and play multiplayer sessions.

I couldn't give a rat's about realistic skating.

Nobody I know gives a rat's about realistic skating.

Realistic skaters have Skate for the realisic skating.

So Tony, I beg of you:

BRING BACK NEVERSOFT.

BRING BACK OUR THPS!!

I agree with you. When Tony Hawk was at its best, it was a really awesome game.

 

[SaintWaldo]

These guys flushed a great franchise. TH could have remained the "arcade style" skate game and collected plenty of cash despite having the full skate game crown taken away by Skate.

But, no.

Robomodo had to try to one-up realism, and in doing so jumped not only the shark, but also an adjacent dolphin, 3 giant tuna, a humpback whale, the Japanese whalers trying to hunt that whale, and the Greenpeace freakshow tugboat with a bullhorn equipped hippie criticizing anyone within earshot circling the whole grisly shebang.

I bought this game. I have every right to celebrate these layoffs. To paraphrase "Airplane!", they bought their tickets, they knew the risks, I say, LET 'EM CRASH!

 

[SaintWaldo]

The board keeps eating my comments. This is a test so I can edit this post with my actual thoughts, if it works.

EDIT: It did work, and posting the second time finally made my comment appear, a full 5 minutes after. Oddness with the caches? Kross, I invoke thee!