iTWire - EA’s SKATE gets street date

EA’s SKATE gets street date

By Mike Bantick
Tuesday, 07 August 2007 06:51

Electronic Arts ‘Tony Hawk killer’ hopeful SKATE gets a demo and a release date for Xbox 360

SKATE, featuring gold medallist Danny Way is hoping to carve out its own skateboarding franchise. Can Danny knock Tony off his skates? Full details follow;

Sydney, Australia – August 6, 2007 – Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced that its award-winning SKATE video game will ship to retail stores on September 12 in the U.S., September 14 in Europe, and October 11 in Australia for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system.

The PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system version will ship to stores on September 24 in the U.S., October 5 in Europe and October 11 in Australia. For players eager to get their hands on the game pre-launch, EA will release a SKATE demo on Xbox Live Marketplace on August 15 so players can experience first-hand the title’s groundbreaking new gameplay style – a new way of playing skateboarding games that will invigorate the genre. The downloadable demo features tutorials and gameplay challenges in San Vanelona’s community center skatepark to introduce gamers to SKATE’s revolutionary Flickit controls.

The demo also includes the innovative skate.reel feature where gamers can capture video footage of their skate session at any time during the demo and share the footage online at www.skate.ea.com for other players to view, rate and comment on.

In the game, everything you do works towards getting you coverage in two of skateboarding's premiere magazines - Thrasher and The Skateboard Mag. Coverage also means sponsors, product, money and fame. Become a legend by getting the covers and you'll earn a coveted invitation to skate in the X Games – the world’s top skateboarding competition. You’ll be able to throw down on the street course and go huge in the Skateboard Big Air event, innovated and dominated by two time gold medalist Danny Way.

SKATE recently received the “Best Sports Game of E3 - IGN Xbox 360” award at the E3 tradeshow in Santa Monica. SKATE was also one of only four games nominated for Best Sports game for the “Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2007”. The judges for this award included editors from the 36 leading videogame publications in the industry.

With innovative Flickit controls that take advantage of the dual analog sticks and the ability to sculpt tricks that define your own style, SKATE delivers an authentic boarding mecca like no other videogame. SKATE is developed by EA Black Box in Vancouver, British Columbia and is rated M for Australian audiences.