May 18, 2009 3:30 PM PDT

Tony Hawk gets a new skateboard

Now just how am I supposed to perform a 360 inward heel flip with this?

(Credit: GameSpot)

This article was updated on 5/19/09 to add the info that you actually CAN "ride" the board. Thanks Cravers for pointing this out.

The last Tony Hawk game I played was Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 on the Dreamcast. Getting good enough to pull off trick after trick in succession in that game was close to gaming nirvana for me.

Since then, the series has had its ups and downs and with strong competition from EA's Skate series, and Activision--publisher of all things Tony Hawk--needs to find new ways to get players excited again about the once dominant Tony Hawk brand.

Hopefully for them, they've succeeded. Tony Hawk Ride, the latest entry in the franchise, will be available for the 2009 holiday season for the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3.

Also being released is a unique controller for the game that comes in the shape of an actual skateboard deck. According to Gamespot, the board peripheral will use "a combination of accelerometers and motion sensors" and will require no other controller.

Hmmm, I'm assuming that you'll control this with your hands, but then what's the point of shaping it like a skateboard if we can't "ride" it? Update: I assumed incorrectly. You will control the game by riding on the board. Thanks again to the three Cravers that pointed this out to me. Last time I saw something like this was in the arcade games Top Skater and Air Trix.

Each game was controlled via a stationary skateboard attached to the arcade machine. Each time I tried playing, well, let's just say the skateboards didn't function optimally. Probably had something to do with the endless supply of Dave and Buster's clientele straight from a buffalo wings platter trying the game out.

Hopefully the controller for this game will be made from sterner stuff. Look for more information on the official game site on June 2.

Eric Franklin refused to write a bio, saying, "Why are you bothering me about this bio business again? If I wanted people to know more about me, I'd send them to the Inside CNET Labs Podcast" (shameless plug). E-mail Eric.