20 Stupid Decisions That Destroyed Their Franchise

It’s nearly impossible to overstate the cultural impact of the original Tony Hawk’s games. Not only did they revolutionize and popularize the extreme sports subgenre, but they also shaped the personalities, fashion, and music tastes of their target teenager demographic.

Regrettably, the yearly grind to put out new titles began backfiring in the mid-2000s, with unfocused but still solid offerings eventually devolving into uninspired obligations and/or overly expensive, broken, and gimmicky messes.

Admittedly, the series already fell from grace when Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 released; yet, it was marketed as a proper return to the revered Pro Skater brand, so many longtime fans expected tons of nostalgic feels and fun from it.

Unfortunately, it was created by the unreliable Robomodo as a blatant cash grab before the licensing deal between Tony Hawk and Activision expired, resulting in a rushed, shoddy, and massively disappointing disaster.

Everything about Tony Hawk’s Pro Skate 5 – from its outdated graphics and gameplay to its bland levels, wrecked physics, repetitious goals and lackluster roster – felt like a slap in the face to fans and Tony Hawk’s legacy.

Unsurprisingly, it was a critical and commercial catastrophe, and despite how awesome the recent remakes of the first four Pro Skater games are, Pro Skater 5 killed the chances of there being a entirely new Tony Hawk’s experience.