Changing the Game: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4

With over a billion dollars in sales worldwide, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater is one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time. The original was released in 1999, winning over a generation of fans by giving them access to the kind of extreme skating they could only find on TV. The game was about as authentic to skating culture as you could possibly get, and is the reason why THPS has become as much a part of the history of skating as skate parks themselves.

The franchise has delivered over a dozen versions and spin-offs since the first THPS hit shelves. But the 2020 release of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, a fully remastered experience of the beloved first two releases, was a modernized return to the games responsible for bringing skateboarding to the masses. Hawk says the excitement from fans is the best part of revisiting these games. “It was way beyond my expectations,” he says. “The fan response was just huge.”

You can expect those fans will continue freaking out. THPS 3 was released in 2001, followed by THPS 4 the next year. THPS 3 + 4 will hit the shelves on July 11. “The excitement we felt once we announced that THPS 3 + 4 is coming has been overwhelming,” Hawk says. It’s not surprising. The original THPS truly captured the vibe of a decade: the music, graphics, even the skaters’ clothes were part of what fans fell in love with. But let’s be real, THPS was always about the tricks. By allowing players to string together impressive combinations of flips, grabs, and grinds in ever-expanding landscapes and urban skate parks, anyone—not just Tony Hawk—could land a 900 … if you were good enough at the game.

Part of the fun and fantasy of the early versions of THPS were trick combinations that seemed impossible. Hawk says when the game first came out there were combos no one could pull off in real life. “But there were skaters who thought they were real, so they went out and tried them,” he says. “Most skaters now are doing tricks that were inspired from the game, tricks we all thought were impossible.”

As skaters took on the moves they saw in the game, the fun and the fantasy only became more extreme. It’s part of what makes these games so special.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 has all the elements fans love about early versions, but with the volume turned up. The soundtrack has original favorites like “Ace of Spades,” by Motörhead and “My Adidas,” by Run-D.M.C. and is fully loaded with new hits from Boys in the Betterland and 100 gecs.

The skaters are incredible—and all with graphics, skate parks, and trick combos that feel pulled from a skating dream—except that you might actually be able to do them … you decide.