We’re back. And we’ve come back with a topic that is probably the worst one you could possibly come back on in this series; we lost something great.
I know what you might be thinking, but Tony Hawk himself is alive and well, though you may not say the same about his franchise these days. The original creator of the Tony Hawk skateboarding games, Neversoft Entertainment, the guys that brought us so many hours of fun, and introduced many to skateboarding culture and so much good music, is gone.
It hurts to say it, but Neversoft is dead.
You may be thinking something along the lines of ‘well, what has Neversoft done lately anyways,’ and that wouldn’t necessarily be a misguided thought. They didn’t make a Tony Hawk game since 2007 when that series went under, and they didn’t make a Guitar Hero game since 2010 when… well, that series isn’t exactly doing well these days either. They may have been great at what they did, but in the later years, their publisher and the consumers thought otherwise.
They were dormant for several years, until they, alongside other former-fantastic developer Raven Software, were drafted to work on the new Call of Duty title; a series that, surprisingly, has not been run into the ground yet. While it was a far cry from their former glory, it was good to see that Neversoft logo again.
What happened after that, you may ask? Well, on May 3rd, Neversoft was given the honor of being merged with Call of Duty series creator Infinity Ward (or what’s left of them following the mass exodus after Modern Warfare 2). Although I’m glad that no employees will be laid off following this move (though several employees have been reported to be leaving the company) it hurts to see such talent squandered like this, but it hurts even more when it’s a developer you held in such high regard. I loved the Guitar Hero games after they took over, but the Tony Hawk games always hold a special place in my heart; and it’s sort of the reason I’m doing this series.
For what it’s worth, Neversoft is up there in game developer heaven now, with Westwood Studios, Factor 5, Pandemic, and so many others. I feel like there’s not enough I can say, so I’ll just leave it with this: thanks for making my adolescence and the years to follow so great. Your games made my childhood awesome, and, if nothing else, inspired me to do this series.
Seriously, thanks for the memories, guys.