Tony Hawk's Underground

**YOU OWN THE UNDERGROUND

This time it's YOUR journey. Break the rules. Beat the odds. Become a star!* Create your own levels with custom goals.

Tear it up in cars or other rides.

THUG stars YOU as a skate punk out to make it big.

Go from local unknown to superstar skater.

Do whatever it takes -- run, climb, and of course, skate -- to make it to the top.

Design your own tricks and use them on the game.*

Source:

Back of Case (Xbox, Canada/U.S.)

YOU OWN THE UNDERGROUND

This time it's YOUR journey. Break the rules. Beat the odds. Become a star! *Tear it up in cars or other rides.

THUG stars YOU as a skate punk out to make it big.

Go from local unknown to superstar skater.

Do whatever it takes -- run, climb, and of course, skate -- to make it to the top.

Design your own tricks, decks, goals, and levels. It's your game.*

Source:

Back of Case - GameCube

YOU OWN THE UNDERGROUND

This time it's YOUR journey. Break the rules. Beat the odds. Become a star! *Put your face in the game to skate as YOU.

Tear it up in cars or other rides.

THUG stars YOU as a skate punk out to make it big.

Go from local unknown to superstar skater.

Do whatever it takes - run, climb, and of course, skate - to make it to the top.

Design your own tricks, decks, goals, and levels. It's your game.*

Source:

Back of Case - PlayStation 2

Tony Hawk’s Underground is a totally new breed of the Tony Hawk experience in which YOU star in a plot twisting story that takes you from unknown local skate punk to fame and fortune as the most popular skater in the world.

Source:

PlayStation Holiday Catalog 2003 - Print/website

Activision's Tony Hawk's Underground Hits North American Retail Outlets

Most Customizable Console Game Ever Allows Players To Import Their Own Face, Design Their Own Tricks, Goals, Skate Decks and Skating Environments Santa Monica, CA – October 28, 2003 – Activision, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) is ushering in a new era in console gaming with the announcement that Tony Hawk’s Underground, the most customizable video game ever, has shipped to North American retail outlets. The revolutionary skateboarding game redefines the #1 action sports franchise with groundbreaking options that put players front and center as a skateboarder working their way to the top, in a plot-driven story that’s true-to-life and gives them the power to explore their environments and achieve goals both on and off the board.

Tony Hawk’s Underground allows players to become the lead character and virtually design their own game by creating original tricks, goals, decks and one-of-a-kind skate environments. The PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system version allows gamers to further modify their gaming experience by importing a photo of their own face onto the character to literally become the star of the game. All of the player’s creations can be shared with friends online or via a memory card. The game is currently available for the PlayStation 2, the Xbox® video system from Microsoft and Nintendo GameCube for a suggested retail price of $49.99 and has been rated “T” (“Teen” - with blood, mild violence, strong language and suggestive themes - content suitable for persons ages 13 and older) by the ESRB.

Activision is supporting the launch of Tony Hawk’s Underground with the largest marketing and advertising campaign in the company’s history. The campaign includes promotional support from AT&T Wireless, G4, Nestlé Butterfinger and Tombstone Pizza, as well as such action sports companies as DC Shoes, Hawk Clothing, Vans, Transworld SKATEboarding and Quiksilver among others. Early reviews indicate that the game is on track to continue its dominant industry position, having received a perfect 10 out of 10 rating from industry leading GMR magazine and a 5 out of 5 star review from popular men’s publication Maxim Magazine.

“An original, plot-driven story spurs players to use all their skills and wiles to achieve fame and recognition on their way to becoming a skateboarding pro,” states Larry Goldberg, executive vice president, Activision Worldwide Studios. “In the new story mode, instead of skating as Tony Hawk or a pro skater, gamers skate alongside their heroes as a peer – eventually recruiting the pros to ride on their team.”

In Tony Hawk’s Underground, players skate as themselves and experience the trials and tribulations of going from an unknown local skate punk to becoming a superstar skater. Along the way, they get off the board and explore eight expansive levels by running, climbing or driving a variety of vehicles to complete enhanced goals, which makes the gameplay more realistic and fun. Players can put themselves directly into the game as the star character by importing a photo of their face, e-mailing the image to [email protected] and then downloading the formatted file onto their PlayStation 2 consoles. When gamers import their own face into the game, they are featured in both the cut scenes and in the gameplay. Alternatively, a more sophisticated Create-A-Skater feature enables new levels of customization if players choose to have a fictional character represent them in the game.

Players can further tailor their experience using the all new Create-A-Trick, Create-A-Goal and Create-A-Deck features. Gamers can design an expansive array of original tricks, goals and skate decks that can be used in in-game levels as well as novel environments that they develop using the enhanced Create-A-Park editor. The tricks and goals can then be named and even passed along to friends to challenge their skills. In addition, gamers can go online to check out stats and rankings.

Enhanced technology gives Tony Hawk’s Underground new levels of details that are simultaneously more realistic and cinematic. Cut scene animations are rendered by the game engine in real-time, the use of new facial animation techniques give characters in the game much more lifelike features and players also experience realistic time-of-day changes and weather effects.

Neversoft Entertainment developed Tony Hawk’s Underground for the video game consoles. A Game Boy® Advance version, developed by Vicarious Visions, is also available for $29.99 and has been rated “E” (“Everyone” – animated blood – content suitable for persons ages 6 and older) by the ESRB and a Wireless version of Tony Hawk’s Underground was developed by JAMDAT Mobile, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Founded in 1979, Activision posted net revenues of $864 million for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2003.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, Scandinavia and the Netherlands. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's World Wide Web site, which is located at www.activision.com.

The statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements.” The Company cautions readers of this press release that a number of important factors could cause Activision’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements. These important factors, and other factors that could affect Activision, are described in Activision’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2003, which was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers of this press release are referred to such filings.

Xbox is a registered trademark in the United States and/ other countries.

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Press Release

Welcome to a new breed of the Tony Hawk experience. In Tony Hawk's Underground, we’re breaking the rules, delivering innovative new features, and, this time, it’s all about you.

Complete challenges and unveil the plot-twisting, true-to-life story that takes you from unknown local skate punk to fame and fortune as the most popular skater in the world.

Along the way, get off your board and explore expansive new levels on foot or in vehicles. In this game, there are no rules ... It’s all about the underground.

Features * Experience the first-ever story mode: Play yourself and make your way through a plot-twisting story, working your way up the ranks, earning sponsorships, going pro, and surviving the trials and tribulations of a real skateboarding career. * Get off the board: Explore eight expansive levels on foot or in a vehicle. Go for a joyride or climb to the tops of buildings, all to find new lines to skate or places to drop-in from. * Create-a-Trick: Design original tricks through the all-new Create-a-Trick feature. Create, name, and score your unique tricks and share them via memory cards. * Create your own levels: Create bigger environments in the enhanced Skate Park Editor and populate them with houses, freeways, piers, grass, streets, sidewalks, telephone poles, street lights, and more. Replicate and transplant the coolest creations to other locations in the level using the new copy and paste function. * Challenge your friends: Personalize goals in the expanded Skate Park Editor and share those challenges with your friends via memory unit swapping. * Create your own decks: Choose from the pros’ deck designs or create one from scratch with new stickers and graphics.

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Xbox.com product page

Go from rags to riches in THUG -- an extreme sports masterpiece from Activision.

The series that invented a genre is back, upping the ante with a totally new approach that puts YOU in the starring role. Instead of instantly planting you in the pads of a pro skater, Tony Hawk's Underground makes you work your way to the top in an elaborate Story mode full of plot twits, cut-scenes and high drama. Watch your custom-built character go from skate punk to pro as you learn new tricks, tear up real-world spots and rub elbows with the industry's top names.

Features

• Pick up your board at any time and explore the game's eight expansive levels on foot or even in a car.
• Design your own tricks and challenges, then put them on a Memory Card and share them with a friend.
• Create huge environments in the enhanced skate park editor using houses, freeways, piers, grass, streets, sidewalks, telephone poles, street lights and more.
• Stick the sickest combos with manuals, reverts, spine transfers, hold-grind combos and more. The possibilities are overwhelming.

Somehow, each Tony Hawk game manages to one-up the previous version. THUG is no exception, and in fact this game probably improves the series more than any of the previous sequels. The Story mode is top-notch, and the ability to hop off your board whenever you'd like provides an interesting twist. Challenges are delivered by pro skaters and other locals you encounter in the environment, which allows you to explore freely for as long as you'd like before accepting a challenge. This feature was introduced in THPS 4, but the addition of a storyline makes the overall experience more rewarding.

As you would expect, the skating play control in this game is spot-on perfect. The gaps and lines in each environment will keep creative skaters entertained for hours just trying to find the gnarliest runs. The difficulty of the challenges gradually increases at a manageable pace, which is good news for Tony Hawk rookies. The off-board running and jumping control isn't up to par with the rest of the play control, but it's good enough to get the job done without too much frustration.

Bottom Line

This is an easy one -- skate to the store and hope this game hasn't flown off the shelves before you get there.

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www.nintendo.com – GameCube

The only name that matters in console skateboarding returns, but this time you're playing as you - not him

One of the hottest properties in videogaming it may have been, but the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series was in danger of becoming a little stale. After four iterations, you couldn't help feeling that the existing format had been taken as far as it would go. So, it's all change in the Tony Hawk's camp; a radical new game structure, a full-blown storyline and a new name to boot. Another key difference is that you don't play as the pros any more; you play as you. You can do this either by emailing a photo of your beautiful mug to Activision, who'll convert it into the right format and send it back to you (for which you'll need a Network Adaptor), or you can use the detailed Create-A-Skater feature to digitally create your likeness. That done, you're ready to take on one of the biggest challenges of your skating (and indeed gaming) career...

To help marry the increasingly disparate interests of hardcore THPS players and newbies, Neversoft has, for the first time in the series, introduced a difficulty level. Probably a wise move, as it keeps the hardcore happy without making the whole affair completely intimidating to newbies (which TPHS 4 arguably was in areas). Whatever difficulty level you select, you start out as a complete nobody in a New Jersey small town, tinkering with your board and dreaming of bigger and better things. So, when you hear that skating legend Chad Muska is coming down, you and a friend waste no time in going down to meet him, at which point you receive the first of many, many challenges. Although you can no longer play as any of the pro skaters, you can expect to run into them all as you work your way up the ranks from rookie to pro.

Besides the new storyline, THUG is crammed with new features. One of the most radical additions is the fact that you can now get off your skateboard. Cleverly, you can still keep those all-important combos going even when you're off the board; whenever you dismount, a small timer appears and you have until it runs out to segue into your next trick. Another major new feature is the ability to commandeer vehicles at certain points in the game. Certain missions require you to take control of karts, BMXs and cars to fulfil your objectives, adding another whole new dimension to the Tony Hawk's formula.

Besides the huge single player story mode (more objectives, massive environments), THUG has a staggering array of customisation options. Besides the excellent Skatepark editor, there's a nifty trick editor too, which allows you to chain together grabs and flips to create exotic new tricks, which you can then name. If you want to go the whole nine yards with the customisation options, you can even build your own skatepark, populate it with goals (e.g. placing the letters S-K-A-T-E) and challenge mates to beat your creation. All of this is particularly exciting for Network Adaptor owners, who can upload and download user-created parks, tricks and missions, giving THUG a replay value that literally stretches to infinity.

• Features a full-blown storyline; journey across America as you work your way up the ranks from newbie to top ranking pro
• Play as yourself! Add your own face to your skater model or create your likeness with the comprehensive Create-a-Skater mode
• Massive environments, more goals to conquer and more fiendish tricks to master
• Get off the board! Explore environments on foot, climb, monkeyswing and find new areas to skate

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uk.playstation.com