Now that Activision's Tony Hawk skating franchise is facing stiff competition from EA's Skate, rumors are circulating that the publisher may want to innovate the series by giving the axe to the series creators. Is Neversoft out and is new dev Robomodo in? Details after the jump.

The latest news regarding the Vivendi and Activision merger has come in. It looks like the new company called Activision Blizzard has been given the go-signal by the European Commission. To find out more, head on over to the full article.

The Tony Hawk video game franchise is already a winner in itself, but Activision, Neversoft, and Tony Hawk still saw it fit to do some overhaul in the franchise's direction. Dubbed as the "Tony Hawk Innovation Plan," what can fans expect from this move? Read more in the full article.

In order to extend its success to 2008, Activision has several plans and a healthy line-up of games. Among its steps to make more money is innovating with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater to compete against Electronic Arts' successful Skate. Learn more about this at the full article.

Video Games Live, the premier video game concert event, is performing at this year's Video Game Awards from Spike TV. The event, which will mark the group's television debut, will be aired on December 9 at 9:00 p.m. The group will perform some hits from their world touring event and other new material. They will also be releasing their Greatest Hits album in the future.

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.

Last week in On Shelves This Week, we saw an outstanding crop of releases across all platforms led by Folklore for the Sony PlayStation 3 and Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions for the Sony PlayStation Portable. This week, we're treated to another worthy banquet of titles hot off the studios to keep us all occupied.

Particularly noteworthy is Activision's Tony Hawk's Proving Ground which debuts on four platforms. Also good to see is Crash of the Titans finally landing on the Sony PlayStation Portable. There's a whole lot more where those two came from, so help yourselves to this week's batch!

Crash of the Titans. Crash is back and he's having his latest, larger than life showdown with the diabolical Dr. Neo Cortex. This time he shows off just how big he can be on the Sony PlayStation Portable as he flexes his platforming prowess.

• Sony PlayStation Portable - October 16, 2007
• US$ 39.99
• ESRB E (Everyone) 10+
• Sierra Entertainment

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition. One of the most critically-acclaimed games on the Sony PlayStation 3 will have a special release this week. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition includes the Knights of the Nine and The Shivering Isles expansions for a more immersive experience than ever.

• Sony PlayStation 3- October 16, 2007
• US$ 59.99
• ESRB M (Mature)
• Take-Two Interactive

Tony Hawk's Proving Ground. If you think that the Tony Hawk series is running out of tricks, think again. Tony Hawk's Proving Ground has more than just sweet moves, it also has a deep career mode and one of the most advanced replay editors in a game which will allow you to show your stuff online. Get your pads and helmet because this one's ready to roll this week.

• Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS- October 15, 2007
• US$ 59.99 (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3), US$ 49.99 (Nintendo Wii), US$ 29.99 (Nintendo DS)
• ESRB T )Teen)
• Activision

* Article originally posted on October 15 at 12:32 AM

Buy: [Tony Hawk's Proving Ground (DS, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360)]

Who'd have thunk it? Adam Yauch a.k.a. MCA of the Beastie Boys will be showing off his mad skateboarding skills (at least virtually) in Activision's upcoming skater game, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground. He'll be one of the new faces that will grace the famous, if improbable, line up of bonus skaters for the game.

Included in this update is the complete soundtrack listing for Tony Hawk's Proving Ground, totalling a hefty 54 licensed songs all in all. Included in this list will be famous bands that play to the tune which has marked this high-velocity series, such as the Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Slick Rick, and Jurassic 5.

Activision also announced an added bonus for those getting the Xbox 360 version of the game. The game will include a five song demo of "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock." While the demo will be available soon on the Xbox Live, this is definitely a freebie that will be hard to pass up on.

Developed by Neversoft, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground is scheduled for release during the last quarter of this year. It will be coming out for the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2, Nintendo DS and Wii.

Check out the complete list of songs and their respective artists right after the jump!

Electronic Arts, known for churning out countless games in different flavors, didn't have enough juice to stay on top. Activision, a company that used to stand solely on the timeless classic Tony Hawk, have since then expanded to become to best third-party publisher.

Recent NPD numbers reveal that Activision experienced US$ 397.8 million in sales from January to June this year, against EA's US$ 365.7 million. Kudos goes to the Guitar Hero franchise, which is expected to blaze past US$ 1 billion in sales later this year - faster than any other Activision titles to date.

Movie based games such as Transformers: The Game, Spider-Man 3, and Shrek the Third also did their part in boosting sales. Still, one-fifth of the company's expected US$ 1.8 billion revenue when the year ends, is going to be Guitar Hero's US$ 360 million projected sales.

"This is not an industry that works off of machines or by shaving pennies from the production of goods. We're about having the talent to make games capable of delighting consumers," said Robin Sue Kaminsky, Activision's executive vice president of publishing. True enough, the company have been extending its hands to developers such as Red Octane to create quality titles under its belt.

 

We already nailed down some major details about Activision's Tony Hawk's Proving Ground and its grand scale. Skate fans who've been keeping a tab on this title would know about the different locations, skater types, and cool features like the video editor. For those not in the know, here's co-project lead Chad Findley giving us a brief rundown.

Days of busting tricks over the west coast are finally over, as Proving Ground takes the challenge to the east. Hot spots Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington DC will be the new playgrounds. Players will be in the shoes of three different skaters - the pro, the hardcore, and the type who skate for the sake of it. Whatever you choose, anyone can become a star with the video editor packed with plenty of bells and whistles.

Take it from the man Chad Findley himself by clicking on the Read link below.