Electronic Arts’ successful skateboarding game from last year, the wittily titled Skate, is going to be debuting on the Nintendo DS and Wii. Skate, which was successful enough to launch a new franchise for EA, outsold its Tony Hawk competitor by a margin of 2 to 1. The title was one of the surprisingly competitive new IPs to emerge in 2007, and it comes as no surprise that the game will be seeing some Nintendo love.
The new title for the Wii and DS will be called Skate It, and it will feature FlickIt controls that take advantage of both the touchscreen for the DS and the new Balance Board for the Wii. It certainly isn’t a shock to see the Balance Board posing as a skateboard, and it should be a delight to watch wannabe skaters jump and prance atop white pieces of plastic in their living rooms as their wallet chains dangle in the wind.
Given the number of units of Nintendo’s products sold, EA is quite optimistic about the appearance of the new franchise on the consoles:
Said Skate franchise executive producer Scott Blackwood: “We knew it would be an exciting challenge to bring the soul and feel of skateboarding to the Wii and Nintendo DS. 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.”
I will not be in line to buy this game. I have already fallen off skateboards without wheels while trying to learn the skills involved. It resulted in scraped elbows and wounded pride. I don’t think I could overcome the shame if I face-planted on the Balance Board.
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