Pro-Skaters Reveal Legend Tony Hawk Secured Millions From His Video Game

In a recent discussion Jason ‘Wee-man’ Acuna was in conversation with Steve-O, for an episode of the Wild Ride podcast. The two discussed the development of skating as a sport and a few things that helped inspire millions to follow it. One was Activision’s revolutionary video game – Tony Hawk’s Underground 2. 

Released in 2004 in the United States, Activision published the game for all major platforms. Being the sixth installment in the series, the developing studio, Neversoft had more experience and a bigger budget. After being critically acclaimed for its gameplay mechanics and aesthetics, the game received positive feedback from Skating fans and helped pave the way for many titles to follow.

The gaming industry lent a helping hand

“The biggest burn for Skateboarding is because of Tony Hawk’s video games”, Steve-O said. Ever since California Games, many platforms came out with games in the mid 1980s, skating had begun to become a recurrent theme for adventure games. That graph saw a significant rise during the late 2000s after the success of games like Underground 2. 

According to Wee-Man Acuna, “It was booming!” Upon being asked whether he received a ton of money for his character, the celebrated stuntman reveals that he got close to $5000, for his character. Steve-O reiterated that he received the exact same amount.

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The developers knew what was at stake and took serious measures to consolidate the game’s success. Neversoft dispatched members of its team to visit the locales depicted in the game during production to obtain a better understanding of the areas. The athletes were paid handsomely. “Life-changing money” as portrayed by Steve-O. He speculates that the primary characters in the game even received royalties. Furthermore “You pay 60 bucks for the disk, which takes 2 bucks to make,” he added while laughing.

The Underground 2 of Tony Hawk was a milestone

Neversoft has done almost everything short of sending Tony Hawk to your door to cheer all of the fans—old and new—with the addition of Classic Mode and the development of this franchise. Similar to other Tony Hawk games, Underground 2’s gameplay involves the user skating about in a 3D world that is modeled after different cities while attempting to accomplish a variety of objectives. The majority of goals involve performing combos or skating on or over various things.

Critics gave the game mostly favorable reviews; GameRankings ratings ranged from 70% to 86%, and Metacritic scores ranged from 70% to 85%. The game’s storyline earned more negative feedback from players than its graphics. It became one of the most iconic titles in Activision’s roster for the PS2.

Watch This Story – Tony is more than just an athlete

According to Steve-O speculation, Tony Hawk’s world-famous 900° landing in 1999, X games probably started a cultural revolution for the sport amongst youngsters. The Playstation games that followed the event acted as the catalyst to further promote skateboarding. In conclusion, Acuna, and Steve-O, are in agreement, that the games definitely played a major part in protecting their careers as athletes.