You remember the hype. It was 2012, and the collective internet was basically screaming for a return to the glory days of the PlayStation 1. We wanted the Warehouse. We wanted the Hangar. We wanted that feeling of landing a 900 while Goldfinger blared in the background. Then Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD dropped on Xbox Live Arcade, and things got... complicated.
Honestly, if you look at the game today, it’s a weird relic of an era where "HD Remaster" usually just meant "we slapped some new textures on it and hoped for the best." But this wasn't even a straight port. It was a Frankenstein’s monster of a game, stitched together from the first two titles in the series using Unreal Engine 3.
It was supposed to be the big comeback. Instead, it became a cautionary tale.
The Robomodo Era and the Physics Problem
Before we get into the grit, you have to understand who made this. Robomodo. That name still triggers a bit of a "yikes" from hardcore fans. These were the same folks behind Tony Hawk: Ride and Shred—you know, the games that forced you to stand on a plastic peripheral that barely worked.
When they announced Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD, they promised a "return to roots." No peripherals. Just a controller and some wheels.
But here’s the thing: it didn't feel like Tony Hawk.
If you grew up on the Neversoft games, you know that the physics were snappy. Gravity felt intentional. In THPS HD, everything felt sort of floaty and "heavy" at the same time. When you bailed, your skater didn't just fall; they turned into a weird, low-gravity ragdoll that bounced around like a piece of rubber. It was jarring.
The game featured seven levels at launch:
- Warehouse (THPS1)
- School II (THPS2)
- Mall (THPS1)
- Hangar (THPS2)
- Venice Beach (THPS2)
- Downhill Jam (THPS1)
- Marseille (THPS2)
It sounds like a "greatest hits" album, but it felt more like a cover band. A decent cover band, sure, but the soul was missing.
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Why Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD Disappeared
If you go looking for this game on Steam or the PlayStation Store today, you’re out of luck. It’s gone. Delisted. Vanished.
In July 2017, Activision pulled the plug. Why? Music licenses. These games are built on a foundation of 90s punk and alt-rock, and those contracts don't last forever. When the licenses for songs like "Superman" or "When Worlds Collide" expire, the publisher either has to pay up to renew them or pull the game from sale. Activision chose the latter.
It’s a shame, really. Even with its flaws, it was a piece of history. But it wasn't just the music that was halved. The original games had dozens of songs; THPS HD launched with about 14. Half were classics, half were new tracks like "The Bomb" by Pigeon John. Some of the new stuff was okay, but it didn't have that "I’m 13 and I just found my new favorite band" energy that the original soundtracks had.
The Revert DLC Controversy
One of the biggest gripes fans had was the lack of a "Revert."
For the uninitiated, the Revert was introduced in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3. It’s the move that lets you link vert tricks into manuals, allowing for those massive, million-point combos. Since this game was technically a remake of 1 and 2, Robomodo didn't include it at launch.
People lost their minds.
How are you going to release a "pro" skater game in 2012 without the most essential mechanic in the franchise? Eventually, they released the "Revert Pack" DLC, which added levels from THPS3 (Airport, Canada, and Los Angeles) and finally gave players the ability to Revert. Later, they patched the move into the base game for everyone, but by then, a lot of players had already moved on.
The Missing Features
What really hurt the game’s longevity wasn't just the physics; it was the lack of stuff to do.
There was no "Create-a-Skater." No "Create-a-Park." No local split-screen multiplayer. Read that again. A Tony Hawk game with no split-screen. That’s like a pizza with no crust. It misses the entire point of why we played these games in the first place—sitting on a couch, passing a controller, and trying to beat your friend’s score in H-O-R-S-E.
Instead, we got "Big Head Mode" and "Survival." They were... fine? But they weren't what people wanted.
Is it better than the 1+2 Remake?
Short answer: No. Not even close.
When Vicarious Visions released Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 in 2020, they essentially erased the memory of the HD version. They actually used the original Neversoft code for the handling, which is why the 2020 version feels "right" and the 2012 version feels "wrong."
However, there is one thing THPS HD did that I kinda miss. It had a very specific, almost "clinical" look to it. Because it was built in Unreal Engine 3, the lighting was very bright and the textures were sharp in a way that felt very "early 2010s." It didn't have the grittiness of the newer remakes. It felt more like a dream version of the levels rather than a realistic one.
What you can do now
If you’re a die-hard fan and you absolutely must play this version, you have a few options, though they aren't great.
- Check your old accounts: If you bought it on Xbox 360 or PS3 back in the day, you can still download it from your purchase history. Digital licenses are weird like that—you can’t buy it new, but you still "own" it if you already paid.
- Physical copies? Nope. This was a digital-only release. No discs exist.
- The PC route: Steam keys occasionally pop up on gray-market sites, but they are overpriced and honestly not worth the risk.
- Move on to THPS 1 + 2: If you just want to play these levels in high definition, the 2020 remake is superior in every single way. It has the full soundtrack (mostly), the right physics, and all the features that Robomodo left out.
The real legacy of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD is that it proved people still cared. It sold surprisingly well at launch, which showed Activision that the brand wasn't dead. Without the success of this flawed HD experiment, we probably wouldn't have gotten the masterpiece that was the 2020 remake. It was a necessary, if awkward, stepping stone.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check your digital library: If you haven't looked at your Xbox 360 or PS3 "Ready to Install" list in a few years, give it a scan. You might find THPS HD sitting there, waiting for one last session.
- Update your music playlist: If you miss the vibe but don't want to struggle with the physics, look up a "THPS HD Soundtrack" playlist on Spotify. It’s a great mix of nostalgia and 2012-era indie rock that actually holds up better than the game does.
- Skip THPS 5: If this article made you curious about other Robomodo Tony Hawk games, stay away from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5. It takes all the problems of the HD version and triples them. Stick to the classics or the 2020 remake.