One of the best aspects of the gaming industry is the rivalries. Whether it’s between console giants, publishers, developers, or outright franchises, these bouts are very good for consumers, as the resulting competition pushes producers to create better and more enjoyable products. One of gaming’s more notable rivalries has been between the skating franchises, Skate, and Tony Hawk’s various titles, specifically the Pro Skater line.

Both franchises have excellent and groundbreaking games and large player bases. One of the longest-standing debates is which is series is better. Here are the best aspects of each game compared side by side.

10 THPS: Legacy

When most gamers think of skating games, the first franchise that comes to mind is Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. The franchise was the first to do it right and make it mainstream.

From its very first installment, the Tony Hawk series has consistently produced quality content. It is not just players who grew up with the PS1 and PS2 that are familiar with the series, as the franchise even become popular with the younger gaming generations of today through the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 remakes.

9 Skate: Better Skating Game

The franchise with the more realistic and complex dynamics is without a doubt Skate. Not only does the franchise contain a much higher realism factor, but the mechanics also mimick actual skating moments and real-life physics.

Because of this realism and wariness of the ridiculous, the Skate series manages to have the better, true to form, skating games.

8 THPS: Better All Around Games

The Tony Hawk series tends to rely on the ridiculous and impossible. It seems as if the games take place in an alternative universe where the laws of physics do not apply when riding a skateboard. The vast majority of stunts in the game are outright impossible and so dangerous to attempt that even the bravest professional skaters wouldn’t dare try them.

While this does take away the factor of realism, it does add something crucial: fun. The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games are simply pure fun, with players trying to rack up high scores in the millions by pulling off some of the most insane stunts imaginable. THPS focuses on pure entertainment.

7 Skate: Multiplayer

Multiplayer was one of the main reasons the Skate franchise became so popular in the first place. Even going back to the first entry from 2007, the game had excellent multiplayer (disregarding latency issues which were common at the time).

Skate’s multiplayer is simply more engaging and enjoyable, with a true focus on the players interacting with one another and having actual skate-offs.

6 THPS: Guest Appearances/ Cameos

Cameos started out as a marketing gimmick but eventually became an important factor in any skateboarding game. Guest appearances and cameos from professional skaters and other famous figures are a must.

While Skate certainly had its fair share of star power, THPS does this better than anyone else. Even bringing in some major pop culture figures to ride the rails. Seeing Spider-Man get some good shreds in is truly priceless.

5 Skate: More Grounded Story

The Skate series may not have had stories that were quite as over the top and star-powered as the THPS franchise, however, they simply worked better.

With more grounded challenges, missions, and goals, gamers actually felt like they were on a realistic and plausible skaters journey. THPS tended to go so over the top, that at times it felt like a pre-teen’s skating fantasy, even going so far as to occasionally enter cringe territory.

4 THPS: Music

Anyone that loves skateboarding games, loves background music that can turn a simple gaming session into a straight jam out. Both Skate and THPS had great soundtracks, however with a heavier focus on alt-rock and the classics, the latter truly had the music of the skating generation.

While Skate focused more on just having a good soundtrack, subcultural relevance is important in boarding games. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater delivered on that front.

3 Skate: Limited Releases

The Tony Hawk moniker has donned countless skating games. Spawning various spin-offs and mainline titles, the amount of releases with the Tony Hawk name is simply massive. Naturally, this caused some of the titles to decrease in quality, especially as it became clear that profit was the main motivation behind these releases.

Every entry in the Skate franchise feels intentional and unrushed. It felt as if the publishers genuinely wanted to produce high-quality games that satisfied fans, instead of rushed cash grabs forced by corporate.

2 THPS: Game Worlds

The skating arenas and game worlds of the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater titles simply felt more alive and diversified than those in Skate. Players had the ability to set up some of the wildest tricks seen in skate-based gaming because of the intuitive and effective world design.

The Skate franchise also had great open-world environments, but none of them were nearly as memorable as those found in the best THPS games.

1 Skate: Player Made Skate Parks

The THPS series also has this feature, though it is not nearly as fleshed out and detailed as the one offered in Skate 3. Players had the ability to create the skatepark of their dreams, and most importantly share them with their friends. Users could spend countless hours seeing who could make the best arena for shredding.

This added so much replayability that Skate 3 is still relevant today.

NEXT: The 8 Best And 7 Worst Tony Hawk Games Of All Time