Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 + 4 Developer Says It’s Pulling an Odd Reference to Guitar Hero, and ‘Investigating’ How It Got in the Game
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 developer Iron Galaxy says it is “investigating” a curious “Easter egg” that some fans believe references an Activision series resigned to the trash. Literally.
Shortly after the highly-anticipated Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 remake went live for all players last week, players noted a familiar-looking — if “legally distinct” — box in a trash bin on the new Waterpark level. While not everyone may make the connection, you can see what appears to be a boxed copy of Guitar Hero — or ‘Banjo Champion’ as it’s been rebadged as here, albeit with all the Guitar Hero branding — stuffed into the can.
It’s a particularly curious addition given the developer of the Guitar Hero series from Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock to 2010’s Warriors of Rock was Neversoft… which also just-so-happened to have developed the original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series.
As fans debated whether or not it was an Easter egg, a joke, or even dig — at Neversoft, or publisher Activision — THPS 3+4 developer Iron Galaxy promptly distanced itself, writing: “We have the utmost respect for anyone who makes games, we’re investigating how that got in there in the first place. Thank you to the community for bringing this to our attention and we’ll be removing that from the environment art in the next update.”
Some players have told Iron Galaxy not to worry as the “benign joke” was “nothing serious,” and others say it’s “edgy, like the older THPS games,” the truth is the ‘joke’ has been around for years, as ‘Banjo Champion’ references popped up in THPS 1+2, too, five years ago.
We thought the long-anticipated remake was great, slapping it with a 8 and writing in the IGN’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 review: “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 proves yet again the series’ over-the-top skateboarding formula is totally timeless, even if some of the changes to THPS4 miss the mark and the soundtrack has been fumbled.”
If you’re just getting started, check out our Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 walkthrough, where we take you through all nine levels, showing you how to get every collectible, goal, gold medal, and panda plushie en route to unlocking everything available before reaching Pro Goals in THPS 3.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
