So long mindless button mashing
It pays to embrace inventive controls — just asked Nintendo, Activision, MTV Games, and Electronic Arts. The latter of which did so using a traditional controller even when in 2007 it released Skate, a game that outsold Tony Hawk’s latest by 2 to 1. What’s more, Skate was available on three fewer systems.
The reason for its success is simple: more gratifying controls.
Unlike the once-pioneering Tony Hawk series that relies heavily on button mashing, Skate lets players capture the feeling of skateboarding by executing timed gestures onto dual thumbsticks, with little dependence on buttons. EA calls it “Flickit” controls.