When a gaming company manages to churn out a hit franchise, we'd most probably think that they hit paydirt, like what Activision did when they came up with the Guitar Hero series of games. However, the benefits of coming up with a great title may be a bit of a bane as well.

According to analyst Mike Hickey from Janco Partners, the emerging competition resulting from Activision's Guitar Hero and Tony Hawk franchises may prove to be "damaging for growth prospects".

Of course, when talking about Guitar Hero's and Tony Hawk's competition, it can only mean Harmonix' Rock Band (for the Xbox 360, PS3) and EA's Skate (also for the Xbox 360 and PS3). Hickey said that Rock Band may prove to be a compelling option in the console music gaming genre, which may eventually mean trouble for Activision itself.

Hickey said that analysts are expecting the Guitar Hero series to develop and evolve with the addition of new music peripherals in the near future, which will help the franchise in staying afloat in the midst of competition.

The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service has amassed one million unique users just five months after it was launched to the public. It offers free online multiplayer service for a host of Nintendo DS games. The company's website displays a chart for each of its games; there's also an overall chart that shows the number of users who log on each day for the past two weeks.

Nintendo's data from April 10 to April 23  shows an average of 264,400 unique users daily, and usually peaks above 300,000 users on weekends.  And if you're wondering how your favorite DS games are performing, here's the breakdown:

Animal Crossing: Wild World 116,901 (44.2% of total)
Metroid Prime: Hunters 70,954 (26.8% of total)
Mario Kart DS 59,544 (22.5% of total)
Tetris DS 15,842 (6% of total)
Tony Hawk: American Sk8land 1,159 (0.4% of total)

Surprisingly, Mario Kart DS has been outperformed by Metroid Prime: Hunters, which has been out only for a month. Mario Kart was released the same time the Wi-Fi service was launched in November 2005. Not surprising is the fate of Tony Hawk: American Sk8land, which only managed to bring in over a thousand users. It would be interesting to see how Ubisoft's LostMagic performs when it gets released this week.

Whether Mario jumps to the top of the charts or Tony Hawk turns things around, only one thing is for sure, Nintendo is well on its way to reaching the 2 million mark.

Tony Hawk has given the skateboarder in all of us another game to play, Tony Hawks: American Sk8land for the Nintendo DS. Now we can take all those grinds, flip tricks, big air, and old school street skating in our hands where ever we go "as long as we have lots of batteries". This game features a unique cell-shaped art in seven different levels to prove the players to Tony Hawk and other pro riders just how good you really are.

[Via, worthplaying]

Kick-flipping into retail stores nationwide, Activision, Inc.’s Tony Hawk’s American SK8Land for the Nintendo DS introduces a brand new way to play a Tony Hawk game on a handheld system.  Designed to take full advantage of the Nintendo DS, the game is the first third-party title to utilize the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection allowing fans to create a community where they can skate head-to-head against other DS players online worldwide.  Players can post and download high scores and statistics, as well as view replays to see amazing skate runs, combos and other tricks completed by community members.  In addition, Tony Hawk’s American SK8Land includes exclusive features such as voice in-game and touch-screen capabilities.

“Tony Hawk’s American SK8Land illustrates how the brand is continuing to grow and innovate,” said Will Kassoy, vice president of global brand management, Activision, Inc.  “In addition to incredible gameplay, for the first time ever, fans will be able to create and become part of a handheld wireless Tony Hawk’s American SK8Land community that spans the globe.”

Built from the ground up, Tony Hawk’s American SK8Land features a unique cell-shaded art style and challenges players to prove themselves to Tony Hawk and other legendary pros as they undertake hundreds of skating goals set in seven popular areas of Los Angeles and restore the ultimate skatepark to its former glory.  Along the way, gamers can complete signature skate tricks, including bert slides and Natas spins that have been made popular by the Tony Hawk franchise.  Fans will also experience Nintendo DS specific features, such as drawing with the DS stylus to customize deck art and graffiti tags, performing special moves by touching “trick slots” that appear on the bottom screen, and recording voices that replay in the game when a player bails or performs a special gap.

Tony Hawk’s American SK8Land wireless multiplayer options allow two players to go head-to-head via the local wireless gameplay feature as well as the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and battle through several modes, including “Trick Attack,” “Score Challenge,” “Combo Mambo,” “The Price is Wrong” and more.

Tony Hawk’s American SK8Land was developed by Vicarious Visions and is currently available at retail stores nationwide for a suggested retail price of $39.99 and has been rated “E” (Everyone – mild lyrics) by the ESRB.

The Game Boy? Advance version of Tony Hawk’s American SK8Land is now available for a suggested retail price of $29.99 and has been rated “E” (Everyone) by the ESRB.

Tony Hawk American Sk8land is launching in America in under a week and it is right in line with the launch of the American Sk8land site. American-Sk8land.com will allow you to host your top scores and top replays onto the site for others to see, so when you get that 1,000,000 point combo now you have proof!

You can check out the new site [here].

Activision today has released some new screenshots of Tony Hawk?s American Wasteland game for the Nintendo DS. This game is in development by Vicarious Visions and has a fall shipping date.