Last week, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 finally dropped on modern gaming systems, but the warm reception quickly turned cold after fans learned that only 10 songs included on the original games made the cut for the updated soundtrack.
Now, after some online criticism, Hawk is speaking out and tells the BBC that choosing music for the soundtrack was not his decision alone, but rather a collaborative process along with the game development team.
“These days, just what I think fits and what I’m interested in [makes the soundtrack],” Hawk said, noting that he wasn’t “the only decider” in curating the tunes but did push to get modern artists he enjoys listening to, personally. “I did manage to throw a couple of bands in that I was stoked on – Fontaines D.C., Idles,” he said, per Billboard. “I also picked songs by artists that were already in the game, but a different song.”
As Hawk pointed out, in addition to the new artists, seven artists from the original soundtracks are back — like KRS-One, De La Soul, and Iron Maiden — with new tracks that were not on the previous games.
“Not everyone agreed with that decision, but I feel like ‘let’s keep it fresh’ and also ‘here’s help discovering other music,’” Hawk continued. “In the beginning, that’s what people expected of it – once the soundtrack became such a prominent part of the game, people were like ‘okay, what are you going to throw at us now,’ almost like an underground radio show.”
One of the first tracks fans noticed missing, before the game was even released, was Alien Ant Farm’s “Wish.” The band expressed that they were “disappointed” to learn that their song wasn’t re-included in the new version of the game.
In response to the backlash, Hawk explained, “We’re trying to make room for new acts and new songs as well. Not everything makes the cut. It’s nothing personal, and I appreciate that people have a fondness for that song… so just fire it up on your streaming service if you’re so inclined.”
The post Tony Hawk Weighs in on ‘Pro Skater’ Soundtrack Exclusions, Criticism: ‘Let’s Keep It Fresh’ appeared first on VICE.
