Activision Not Ready to Give Up on Tony Hawk

Activision CEO of publishing Eric Hirshberg still believes in the star power of Tony Hawk. "He is a lasting icon. He has that Michael Jordan-ish or Jordan-esque staying power," said the Activision exec. This vote of confidence came in an excerpt from a larger interview Industry Gamers plans to run in the near future.

Hirshberg attributed the recent struggles of the Tony Hawk games to technical problems in Tony Hawk: Ride resulting from its innovation with the board peripheral. And on the slow start for the recently released Shred, he said that the jury is still out, "because we are marketing it to kids, and it makes a great gift, and the gift-giving season has already begun."

Whether or not sales of Shred make a comeback, Hirshberg does seem aware that the formula in these past two games isn't clicking to the expected degree. "I think we have to ask all the smart questions and make some smart moves in terms of innovation to see if we can recapture people's imaginations," he said. After the post-launch layoffs at Robomodo, it seems likely that part of that process involves handing the franchise over to a new creative team.