Iconic skater Tony Hawk is grateful for the Saturday Night Live shoutout of his newly remastered set of games. Hawk’s games debuted over 20 years ago and were able to get a whole new audience of gamers who would have never picked up a controller into the world of consoles. Bands who were supposed to be recording records found themselves trying to find the hidden tape before laying down a new vocal or guitar track. Hollywood productions were slowed as actors wanted to achieve the sick score before attempting a new scene.
Never imagined I’d get to be on @nbcsnl, especially as a videogame character. Thank you @kylemooney (and @chrisrock) for the surprise @TonyHawkTheGame skit!
— Tony Hawk (@tonyhawk) October 4, 2020
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater became a worldwide phenomenon, thanks to the first two installments, which have just been rereleased as a remastered version across consoles for the first time. Saturday Night Live took aim at the Tony Hawk craze from 2000 and brought it back to the present day with host Chris Rock and cast member Kyle Mooney. The sketch features Mooney as a kid back in the year 2000 who spends almost all of his time indoors playing Tony Hawk. Rock appears as a ghost from the future who shows the kid version of Mooney what life is like in 2020.
While times have changed a lot, there are some similarities to 2000, which Saturday Night Live took advantage of. The first two games are back to dominating the gaming charts as players try to remember their best combos. The whole thing found the real-life Tony Hawk surprised and very grateful. He said, “Never imagined I’d get to be on Saturday Night Live, especially as a videogame character. Thank you Kyle Mooney (and Chris Rock) for the surprise Tony Hawk The Game skit!”
People are spending a lot more time indoors these days and video games have helped a lot of people cope. The Tony Hawk Pro Skater Remaster has been killing a lot of time for old players of the game and a brand-new audience who was never exposed to the game before. The games are nearly identical to the original versions, though they have had a significant facelift, and gamers can’t get enough of trying to find the best trick combinations from their favorite skaters in the game.
Saturday Night Live premiered season 46 last night and a lot of people were at home watching. Jim Carey is taking on the role of former Vice President Joe Biden this season, as Alec Baldwin returns as Donald Trump. Maya Rudolph has returned to play Kamala Harris. Chris Rock returned as host and the show was back in the studio in front of a studio audience, so a lot of people were going to tune in no matter what, which inadvertently gave Tony Hawk a massive free commercial for his newly released Remaster series. You can check out the skit below, thanks to the Saturday Night Live YouTube channel.
