We still have a special place for the classics, as well as the new games that continue to push the boundaries of gaming. Here are a few of the best skateboarding games ever made.

Skate Boardin’

There wasn’t much to this Atari 2600 game, but it helped usher in an area of skateboarding game development that led to some of today’s most beloved skate games. The entire game is just one level that lasts about ten minutes if you successfully navigate your way to school. The ramps look like stairs and there are also some hurdles thrown in the mix. It’s a lot like Pitfall on a skateboard.

Town & Country Surf Design: Wood and Water Rage

Ironically, the surfing aspect of this game was all but worthless and most players stuck to the skateboarding events. Players could catch air, wipe out and fall into cavernous pits. The game itself is named after a shop in Hawaii that manufactured surfboards and clothing. The characters in the game were modeled after T&C’s “Da Boys” cartoon characters, which were popular tee shit designs before the game hit the market.

Skate or Die!

While most of us are familiar with the NES version, Skate or Die! was originally released in 1997 for Commodore 64 and Atari ST. The game featured two iconic characters, Rodney Recloose and Bionic Lester. Players compete in ramp events, downhill, pool joust and other contests. While major video game reviewers gave Skate or Die! Pretty hard knocks, it has become a favorite cult classic still played by vintage gaming enthusiasts.

720°

Released as an arcade game in 1986 and on Nintendo in 1989, 720 became one of the most popular skateboarding games out there and is attributed as one of the first extreme sports video games on the market. Of course, the gaming feat for skilled players was actually landing a 720 on the half pipe. To move through the game, players must earn enough points to move on to bigger and better events.

Top Skater

This arcade game had everything a skateboarding game enthusiast was looking for  – including an a deck-shaped controller you stood on to do tricks. Big airs, grabs, 360s and plenty of other tricks were at out fingertips with a punk rock soundtrack to tie everything together.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater

Pro Skater took skateboard gaming into the new millennium. It featured a rotating cast of favorite professional skaters to choose from, superior graphics and an incredible bank of tricks. The game mixed the best elements of street and ramp skating, allowing players to shred in a way reality simply would never allow. It came with loads of critical acclaim and spawned plenty of follow-ups.

Thrasher: Skate and Destroy

Thrasher, the premiere skateboarding magazine for decades, teamed up with Rockstar Games to put out Skate and Destroy. Unfortunately, this game was released on Playstation shortly after Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater hit the streets. Needless to say, Thrasher’s game didn’t get the love it deserved. It featured a solid hip-hop soundtrack, but getting the tricks down was a lot harder than Tony Hawk’s game, which turned off a lot of players.

Grind Session

Grind session was yet another post-Hawk game that didn’t get the love it deserved, but did have a pretty solid following. Critics knocked this one for being a Tony Hawk rip off, yet despite the bad rap, it actually had some pretty remarkable playability and was decidedly more realistic than it’s Hawk counterpart – although there was still plenty of opportunity to defy reality.

Tony Hawk’s Underground

Released in 2003, Tony Hawk’s Underground upped the stakes once again by adding several new elements. This game actually included storytelling, vehicles and the ability to get off your skateboard. It was new territory that helped revive the Hawk series and make it the premiere skateboarding game once again.

Skate 3

Skate 3 hit the market in 2010 and quickly became a favorite of gamers looking for a bit more of a challenging and realistic skateboarding experience. Thrasher’s third installment of the Skate and Destroy series provides a depth of playability and storytelling unseen in its competitors.

Did you like this post? Then you should also check out our post on the Best Skate Videos of all time.

Check out more pictures from the Death Race Five at The Dagger Zone.

Watch the video of Muska’s arrest on TMZ – CLICK HERE.

Some of us here at Skateboarding Skateboards have skated with Chad Muska in Phoenix, AZ back in the day and from what we see on this video he seems out of it. The gnarly beard may be influencing him to do some pretty crazy things (kidding of course).

Back in 2003 from its beginnings, this day was created with the skateboarder in mind, bringing together one and all to engage in or even learn how to skateboard. Thanks in most part to the International Association of Skateboard Companies; today is now a holiday to skateboarders all over the world. While most are at work, or sitting in front of their television on the couch, skateboarders have been coming together over the past few weeks if not months making plans for today.

If you have ever been skateboarding, you know the thrill and excitement that comes with the freedom of the skateboard underneath your feet, well that is, after you learn to balance it between you and the ground. But once you learn the basics, the world has a new view; the view from the skateboarder’s eye is completely different from those who only know of the world on their feet.

Today is a day to inspire anyone to take up that skateboard, beg, borrow, just get one in your hands, put it on the ground and stand on it, learn to control the skateboard, you may fall, but that comes with the territory. Every skateboarder started out the same. Learning how to control the somewhat unwieldy piece of board on wheels at their feet. Once you get the hang of it, the possibilities are endless. Some use it for transportation; others find an amazingly exhilarating sport that changes them for life.

June 21st is the day where skateboarders come together to do what they love, and to get others informed about what is going on in their circle of life. Today is an offering into a glimpse of a different lifestyle from the norm. Somewhere in your vicinity, there is a group of skateboarders who have made plans for today, be it at their skate park, or anywhere with a surface suitable for skating, they are congregating and shredding the land with their skateboards.

Don’t let June 21st slip by without skateboarding on Go Skateboarding Day! Learn more about skateboarding and the history of skateboarding from SkateboardingSkateboards.com.

Ryan Matthew Dunn (June 11, 1977 – June 20, 2011)

As you may recall, back on August 24th, 2010 the Rob Dyrdek Foundation, Street League Skateboarding and Monster Energy teamed up to donate the Street League Skateboarding course along with $50,000 to build the first Safe Spot Skate Spot in Phoenix, Arizona. It now looks like the highly anticipated new skatepark is opening very soon.

Below is information on Cesar Chavez park in Phoenix, Arizona:

Cesar Chavez Park Info:

Address:
7858 S. 35th Avenue
35th Avenue and Baseline Road
(602) 495-5844
(602) 262-6111 (South Division)

Park Hours: 5:30 a.m. – 11 p.m.

Park offerings: Lighted basketball, boat ramp, fishing, lake, picnic area, playground, racquetball, ramadas,restrooms, lighted softball, tennis, lighted baseball field, lighted multi-purpose field, soccer fields and the new Rob Dyrdek Safe Spot Skate Spot, WOO!

View Larger Map

UPDATE – 5/31/2011: According to a follow up e-mail from a City of Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department representative:

The plan is for the plaza to be completed by the time Dyrdek comes to town again in mid July. The plaza will be built at Chavez Park located at 35th Avenue and Baseline. The plaza will be located near the Softball Fields, just southwest of the Libary.

UPDATE – 6/18/2011:

We visited the new location of the Safe Spot Skate Spot in Phoenix, Arizona over the weekend to find just the area marked with a fence. No construction had begun from what we could see. Hope the company in charge of the construction is fast as this deadline is coming up quickly.