Skate is a skateboarding

Skateboarding

Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...

 video game developed by EA Black Box

EA Canada

EA Canada is a video game developer located in Burnaby, British Columbia. The development studio opened in January 1983 and is EA's largest and oldest studio...

 for the Xbox 360

Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

 and PlayStation 3

PlayStation 3

The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

. It was released in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 on September 17, 2007 for the Xbox 360 and September 24, 2007 for the PlayStation 3 and in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 on September 28, 2007 for the Xbox 360 and October 5, 2007 for the PlayStation 3. As of February 1, 2008, Skate has outsold the 2007 skateboarding game Tony Hawk's Proving Ground

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground is a video game developed by Neversoft for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles; by Page 44 Studios for the PlayStation 2 and Wii; and by Vicarious Visions for the Nintendo DS...

by a ratio of almost 2 to 1 on seventh generation

History of video game consoles (seventh generation)

In the history of video games, the seventh generation of consoles is the current generation , and includes consoles released since late by Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony...

 video game consoles. Two sequels to Skate, Skate 2

Skate 2

Skate 2 is a sandbox skateboarding video game developed by EA Black Box and distributed by Electronic Arts as a sequel to the 2007 game, Skate. Skate 2 was released in January 2009 on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.-Plot:...

and Skate 3

Skate 3

Skate 3 is the third installment in the Skate series of video games, developed by EA Black Box, published by Electronic Arts and was released on May 11, 2010. It is a sequel to the 2009 game Skate 2. The player moves to Port Carverton for Skate 3...

have been released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as well as Skate It

Skate It

Skate It is a skateboarding video game developed by EA Montreal, Exient Entertainment and EA Black Box for the Nintendo DS, Wii, and iOS. The game is a spin-off of 2007's Skate, and the developers have stated that it is not a port or sequel but rather an original game. It was released on November...

, a spin-off for the Wii

Wii

The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...

, Nintendo DS

Nintendo DS

The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...

, and iOS platforms. The latest installment, Skate 3

Skate 3

Skate 3 is the third installment in the Skate series of video games, developed by EA Black Box, published by Electronic Arts and was released on May 11, 2010. It is a sequel to the 2009 game Skate 2. The player moves to Port Carverton for Skate 3...

, was released in May 2010.

Mobile version

The mobile version of Skate features two game modes: Thrasher Mode (the main game mode, in which the player completes goals to make the cover of skateboarding magazine Thrasher) and Free Skate (where the player can play on levels previously unlocked in Thrasher Mode). The player plays as a customized skater, who receives tips from pro skaters Chris Cole

Chris Cole (skateboarder)

James Chris Cole is a professional skateboarder. He grew up in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, but now lives in San Marcos, California with his wife and children. His stance is regular....

 and Rob Dyrdek

Rob Dyrdek

Robert Stanley "Rob" Dyrdek is an American professional skateboarder, actor, entrepreneur, producer, philanthropist, and reality TV star. He is best known for his roles in the reality shows Rob and Big, Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory and Ridiculousness .- Personal life :Rob Dyrdek was born in...

, among others, through twelve missions divided in four goals each. Though the game is still set in San Vanelona, there are only three explorable areas: Plaza, Halfpipe and Downtown, aside from linear levels only playable in Thrasher Mode. The mobile version of Skate later won "Cellular Game of the Year" award at the 2008 Interactive Achievement Awards.

Demo

The demo was scheduled for release on Xbox Live

Xbox Live

Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...

for August 15, 2007 but was delayed (as stated by Scott Blackwood on the Skate forum) due to a sudden problem with the demo's Skate Reel (video editing) feature, releasing on August 21, 2007. It was released on PlayStation Network in September 2007. The demo let players skate around the San Vanelona Community Center for thirty minutes and learn how to do various tricks as well as create and edit videos.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of Skate consists of many punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 and hip hop

Hip hop

Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...

 songs, many of which are by independent artists such as The Falcon

The Falcon (band)

The Falcon is a Chicago-based punk rock supergroup. The band features The Lawrence Arms members Brendan Kelly and Neil Hennessy on drums, as well as Alkaline Trio's Dan Andriano...

. Some songs in the game are exclusive to Skate, such as Tommy Guerrero

Tommy Guerrero

Tommy Guerrero is an American skateboarder and musician. As a teen, he was one of the prominent members of the Bones Brigade, Powell Peralta's professional skateboarding team that was successful during the 1980s...

, XXXChange

Xxxchange

Alex Brady Epton, better known as XXXChange, is a Brooklyn-based musician, record producer, remixer and DJ. He is mostly known for his work with the musical group Spank Rock, whose debut album YoYoYoYoYo he produced.-2006:*Spank Rock - "YoYoYoYoYo"...

, and Z-Trip.
Agent Orange

Agent Orange

Agent Orange is the code name for one of the herbicides and defoliants used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. Vietnam estimates 400,000 people were killed or maimed, and 500,000 children born with birth...

 - No Such Thing

Airbourne

Airbourne (band)

Airbourne are an Australian hard rock band formed in Warrnambool in 2001. Mainstay members are Joel O'Keeffe on lead vocals and lead guitar, his brother, Ryan O'Keeffe on drums, and David Roads on rhythm guitar and backing vocals. They were later joined by Justin Street on bass guitar and backing...

 - Let's Ride

Bad Brains

Bad Brains

Bad Brains is an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1977. They are widely regarded as among the pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members objected to this term to describe their music. They are also an adept reggae band, while later recordings featured elements of...

 - I Against I

Band Of Horses

Band of Horses

Band of Horses, originally briefly known as Horses, are an American rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle by Ben Bridwell. They have released three studio albums, the most recent and most successful of which is 2010's Grammy nominated Infinite Arms...

 - The Funeral

Beat Beat Beat - Sinking Slow

Black Flag

Black Flag (band)

Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...

 - Six Pack *

Booker T & The MG's - Green Onions

Challenger - Input The Output

Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick

Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...

 - Surrender

Children Of Bodom

Children of Bodom

Children of Bodom is a Finnish heavy metal band from Espoo. Formed in 1993, the group currently consists of Alexi Laiho , Roope Latvala , Janne Wirman , Henkka Seppälä , and Jaska Raatikainen...

 - Hate Crew Deathroll *

David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

 - Queen Bitch

Dead Prez

Dead Prez

Dead Prez stylized as dead prez is a hip hop duo from the United States, composed of stic.man and M-1, formed in 1996 in New York City, New York. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with socialist lyrics focused on both militant social justice and Pan-Africanism...

 - Hip Hop *

Devo

Devo

Devo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...

 - Gut Feeling-Slap Your Mammy

Eddie Rap Life - Push Your Wood

Eric B & Rakim - Juice (Know The Ledge) *

Escalera - Go It Alone

Filthy Thieving Bastards - …Lords Of The Avenues *

Gang Starr

Gang Starr

Gang Starr was an influential East Coast hip hop duo that consisted of the late MC Guru and DJ/producer DJ Premier. Their style combined elements of New York jazz and hip hop.-Background:...

 - Now You're Mine *

H.I.T. - Drama *

Mac Mall

Mac Mall

Mac Mall, is a West Coast rapper who became known in the mid/late 1990s, as one of the local artists putting the Bay Area on the hip hop map. Mac Mall was signed to Young Black Brotha Records....

 - Perfect Poison *

Motorhead - We Are Motorhead *

Nirvana

Nirvana (band)

Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...

 - Lounge Act *

N.W.A.

N.W.A.

N.W.A was an American hip hop group from Compton, California, widely considered one of the seminal acts of the gangsta rap sub-genre....

 - Express Yourself *
Renee Renee - Stand Up Talk Easy *

Rick James

Rick James

James Ambrose Johnson, Jr. , better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. James was a popular performer in the late 1970s and 1980s, scoring four number-one hits on the U.S. R&B charts performing in the genres of funk and R&B...

 - Give It To Me Baby

Rick Ross

Rick Ross

Rick, Ricky or Richard Ross may also refer to:* Rick Ross , American rapper* Richard J. Ross, a Massachusetts State Senator* Richard Ross , an American photographer...

 - Hustlin' *

River City Tanlines - Black Knight

S.T.R.E.E.T.S. - Georgia St.

Sicker Than Others - Face Away

Sister Nancy

Sister Nancy

Sister Nancy, aka Muma Nancy, real name Ophlin Russell-Myers, is a dancehall DJ and singer. She is known to the world as the first female dancehall DJ and was described as being a "dominating female voice for over two decades" on the dancehall scene...

 - Bam Bam

Slayer - Raining Blood

The Briefs

The Briefs

The Briefs are a punk rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 2000 and originally consisting of Daniel J. Travanti , Steve E. Nix , Lance Romance and Chris Brief . They play punk rock music, influenced by acts such as Buzzcocks, The Undertones and The Adverts...

 - Poor And Weird

The Coup

The Coup

The Coup is a political hip hop group based in Oakland, California. It formed as a three-member group in 1992 with emcees Raymond "Boots" Riley and E-Roc along with DJ Pam the Funkstress. E-Roc left on amicable terms after the group's second album but appears on the track "Breathing Apparatus" on...

 - Ride The Fence *

The Dwarves

Dwarves (band)

Dwarves is an American punk band formed in Chicago, Illinois, as The Suburban Nightmare, in the mid-1980s. They are currently based in San Francisco, California. Formed as a garage punk band, their career subsequently saw them move in a hardcore direction before settling into an eclectic punk rock...

 - Massacre *

The Exploding Hearts

The Exploding Hearts

The Exploding Hearts were an American punk rock and power pop band formed in Portland, Oregon in 2001. The band was composed of vocalist/guitarist Adam Cox, bassist Matt Fitzgerald, guitarist Terry Six, and drummer Jeremy Gage....

 - Your Shadow

The Falcon

The Falcon (band)

The Falcon is a Chicago-based punk rock supergroup. The band features The Lawrence Arms members Brendan Kelly and Neil Hennessy on drums, as well as Alkaline Trio's Dan Andriano...

 - Blackout *

The Mag Seven - Dick Cemetery

The Ramones - Psycho Therapy

The Returnables - Teenage Imposter

The Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant

The Stars Misplaced - Prophets And Kings

The White Stripes

The White Stripes

The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...

 - Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine

Trouble Andrew - Chase Money *

Valient Thorr

Valient Thorr

-History:Valient Thorr began playing together in 2000. Their first show was on Easter of 2001. They released two demos, "Raw" and "We Come From The Morning Star"...

 - Man Behind The Curtain

ZZ Top

ZZ Top

ZZ Top is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "That Little Ol' Band from Texas". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based boogie rock, has come to incorporate elements of arena, southern, and boogie rock. The band, from Houston Texas, formed in 1969...

 - Just Got Paid
* = Song is censored

Development

The game's "flick it" control system began development long before any graphics had been implemented: the initial prototype simply read analogue stick motions and displayed a basic text message saying what trick had been performed, along with speed and accuracy ratings. The developers found that in order to receive accurate information from the very fast analogue stick motions used when playing the game, input data from each control pad had to be read at a rate of 120Hz.

The game relies extensively on physics to model the skateboarders' movement. Havok

Havok (software)

Havok Physics is a physics engine developed by Irish company Havok. It is designed primarily for video games, and allows for real-time collision and dynamics of rigid bodies in three dimensions. It provides multiple types of dynamic constraints between rigid bodies , and has a highly optimized...

, Endorphin

Endorphin (software)

Endorphin is a dynamic motion synthesis software package developed by NaturalMotion. Endorphin can be used to generate computer simulations of large numbers of independent...

 and others were considered, but ultimately a RenderWare

RenderWare

RenderWare is a computer and video game middleware from British games developer Criterion Software.-Overview:RenderWare is a 3D API and graphics rendering engine used in video games, Active Worlds, and some VRML browsers...

 package called "Drives" was used to model the joints of the human body.

Evidence from different versions of EA's official website for Skate show that the game has been through some major changes in development. For example, one screenshot, dated "04/06/2007", shows that San Vanelona was originally planned to be a coastal city, featuring a football stadium, harbour and cruise liner.

Major changes were also made to the soundtrack. Originally planned to feature "Roadhouse Blues" by The Doors

The Doors

The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...

, the soundtrack now focuses more heavily on hip-hop. Some songs appear in both studio and remixed form.

Reception

IGN

IGN

IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

 gave the Xbox 360 version of skate a 9.0, and the PlayStation 3 version an 8.8. Praise was given to the environments, control scheme, and soundtrack. Criticisms included latency issues with the online multiplayer, odd physics glitches, and the lack of freestyle tricks in both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game (although it is possible to do lip tricks because of the unique grind engine built into the game). However, IGN have since edited their review of Skate, deleting the paragraph to do with complaints of the PS3 version being worse than the 360 version, after sources on the internet lead them to believe there is no difference between the two versions of the game, despite user reviews. IGN has not changed the scoring for the PS3 version of Skate. GameSpot

GameSpot

GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...

 gave it a 7.5 for the Xbox 360 version of the game and a 7.0 for the PS3 version. The reviews praised the game for a good start and innovation, but was criticized for the in-game advertising

In-game advertising

In-game advertising refers to advertising in computer and video games. IGA differs from advergaming, which refers to a game specifically made to advertise a product.The IGA industry is large and growing...

 and product placement. . This resulted in its 0.5 lower score. GameSpy

GameSpy

GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...

 gave it a 5 star rating for the 360 version, praising it for the control scheme, presentation, expansive environments, audio, and amount of content. It was criticized for the learning curve, frustrating camera, and the slowdown in online game modes. Gamespy has since given the PS3 version a 5/5 as well.

Sequels

In February 2008, EA president Frank Gibeau stated in a presentation for industry analysts that the original game posted bigger numbers on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 than rival Tony Hawk's Proving Ground

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground is a video game developed by Neversoft for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 video game consoles; by Page 44 Studios for the PlayStation 2 and Wii; and by Vicarious Visions for the Nintendo DS...

. Because of these numbers, the company had decided to begin work on a sequel. Skate 2 was officially announced in May 2008 and was released at the end of January 2009.

In September 2009, EA announced the third installment in the Skate franchise, Skate 3, which was released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in May 2010. The game is set in a new fictional city called Port Carverton. New gameplay features include the ability to perform dark slides and underflips and Skate 3 has a stronger emphasis on online team play than the previous games.