SURF LIKE SLATER

Surfing and games share a long and checkered history. Since "Ride the Surf," a surfing board game published by John Severson in 1962, would-be surf-game publishers have jumped to market like lemmings, paying little or no attention to the fact that virtually every previous attempt has gone splat on the rocks below. Except for cult classics like the early 90's California Games--a surfing video game where surfing was thrown in with skateboarding, hacky-sack and Frisbee--or the odd bucking mechanical surfboard that may still be throwing people to the floor at your local dive bar, surfing games have all drifted into obscurity without a Monopoly or a Pong among them. So far, Billabong's old tag line remains credible: only a surfer knows the feeling.

But despite the odds, celebrated video-game publisher Activision is hoping to deliver "the feeling" to millions of gaming enthusiasts around the globe when they unveil Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer, the last in a long string of surf games from Surf Riders to the recent Transworld Surf, hoping to capitalize on the "ultimate extreme sport." Casually brushing aside the specters of past publisher's failures and with the momentum of their hugely successful Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video-game franchise, Activision plans to launch Kelly's game this September and rake in the profits.

According to Hal Halpin, President of IE Merchants Association, a non-profit video-game research firm, video-game sales in North America garnered between $7.2 and $9 billion in 2001, right on par with Hollywood's $8.4 billion in box-office receipts for the same year. Tony Hawk's lauded game, in addition to winning virtually every gaming industry accolade, was the best-selling franchise for the Play Station game system in 2000 and 2001, selling 12.5 million units within the U.S. from $30 to $40 a pop, and grossing over a half-billion dollars in sales.

Kelly's game is the fifth surf game created since 1998. And though these last few games, from Surf Riders to Surf H30, have gotten progressively better, with the exception of the recent Transworld Surf game, none of them has even been acknowledged by the gaming world. Having studied the lessons of those that came before them, Activision is confident they can outdo previous publishers' rides, starting with the endorsement of Slater himself: six-time world champion and self-proclaimed Asteroids fan.