Tony Hawk Just Shared Rad Behind-the-Scenes Footage from 'Pro Skater,' Which Is Somehow 20 Years Old

Dom Nero
Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images

From Esquire

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was released all the way back in 1999. Since then, the series has gained a massive cult following, spanning generations of skater boys and girls with a penchant for recklessness and early 2000s ska music. It's been four years since we've seen a main series Tony Hawk game, but in reality, it's been close to 15 years since Hawk and Co. released a game worth playing.

It seems like Tony himself is nostalgic for the series—which is hitting its 20th anniversary this year—as the skater shared a video on Twitter to commemorate his franchise's two decades of thrashing, kick-ass games.

The video sees Hawk absolutely ripping it on a halfpipe, dressed from head to toe in a skintight motion-capture suit. It's both hilarious and charming to see firsthand how gaming has changed in the past 20 years. For instance, looking at the motion capture efforts in THPS compared to the recent, and astounding, God of War is like night and day. From face tracking to meticulously calibrated motion rendering, the medium of gaming is becoming more and more realistic than ever.

The skater-turned-developer tried to pull off a modern game in 2015 with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 5, and while the game catered to a lot of fans' nostalgia, it was riddled with bugs and didn't exactly fulfill the very-high expectations set by the franchise's decorated history.

At least we have this video to reflect upon the good ol' days. It's really hard to believe the OG Tony Hawk came out an entire two decades ago. It might be time to set up my old kicker ramp and see if I can still perform a pop-shuvit without breaking my coccyx.


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