Writing a headline like that kind of tells the whole story before it’s even been written. In fact, Vicarious Visions’ Jen Oneal literally told GameSpot that microtransactions could still happen in the upcoming Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 but that players will be getting a “complete package” when they first buy the remade bundle.
“Everything that you see at launch is going to be unlocked with gameplay. We’re not planning on having monetization at launch,” she said. “If there is demand for additional content, Vicarious Visions might consider releasing more stuff to buy with real money down the road.”
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 with paid content: a good or bad thing?
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater stems from a time when paid additional content was an alien concept. So if Hawk and Oneal themselves are adamant that they want to stick to the originals as much as possible, one would expect they’d also steer clear of microtransactions. Outfits, decks, skins, and all that good stuff were always locked behind gameplay back then, and it’d be great to stick to that in THPS1+2 as well.
But even if THPS1+2 does end up getting microtransactions, is that truly a disaster? If it’s just skins that don’t affect gameplay, does it matter? Then again, this is Activision we’re talking about, and we all know what that could portend. If they were to start with skins, where would they draw the line? New parks? Special tricks? Objects for the build-your-park mode? At that point, we would be looking at flat-out DLC packs. Plus, do we even want DLC for a remake of a beloved franchise? Maybe that effort should be directed toward creating a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4?
Whatever the case, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 launches as a complete package on September 4, 2020.
