Electronic Arts has announced that it is developing a direct sequel to EA Black Box's skateboarding title Skate (PS3, X360), referred to as simply Skate 2, along with separate Wii and Nintendo DS entries titled Skate It.

The Wii and Nintendo DS iterations of the series (both pictured below) are due out later this year. The Nintendo DS version will use the portable's touch screen to control tricks.

Along with motion-sensitive controls that "mirror actual skate flips and moves," the Wii edition of Skate It will support the Wii Balance Board that comes packed with Wii Fit.

As for Skate 2, it was only revealed that the sequel is due on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Released last fall, Skate and its thumbstick-centered control scheme outsold the competing Tony Hawk game by a ratio of 2:1, prompting Activision to halt its annual Tony Hawk iterations and rework the series. EA had previously noted that it planned more Skate games.

EA Black Box's self-descriptive skateboarding title Skate is now tweaking some sweet verts for Xbox 360 users on the marketplace but has given a fakie to the PlayStation Network for now. The 1.1GB demo arrived on Xbox Live earlier today.

The demo features a community center skate park and a brief tutorial. Saving and uploading gameplay movies via the "skate.reel" feature is supported, allowing you to share your totally rad videos with the public.

PlayStation 3 users will have to wait a bit for a trial, though EA has said the demo is already in Sony's hands.

More video after the ollie! ... Read more

There's a new Skate preview on GameSpot this afternoon, going hands-on with EA's skating simulator.

IGN has posted a preview of Skate, EA's answer to the Tony Hawk series of skating games. The article has hands-on impressions and comes with new screenshots and videos.