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Ah, how I miss the days of weird gaming peripherals releasing with quirky games. Back in the PS3/Wii/Xbox 360 era, the controller market was the wild west. We had it all, from Guitar Hero controllers to balance boards that told children they were obese, to actual skateboards without wheels.
In the case of the latter, some of you who are enjoying the new release of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 & 4 may remember that in the dying days of the franchise's original run, Activision released Tony Hawk: Ride. Alongside the game, there was a novelty skateboard controller that let players take to their living room floors and imagine they were shredding like their virtual skater on the screen. No complicated button presses needed, thank you very much.
While talking about the new Tony Hawk remake, we in the hardware team here at GamesRadar+ couldn't help but reminisce about this bizarre controller. We had a quick look at Amazon, and somehow, it's survived. It's stuff of retro collections now, but it has made me nostalgic for the era of controller craziness, because we just don't see it these days with the best PC controllers.
As silly as it seems, there was actually a lot of ingenuity behind the Shred controller. It used an array of motion sensors on its sides to detect player movement. For example, to make your virtual skater move, you had to physically drag one foot along the floor as you would in real life to simulate you pushing yourself forward, and the board would detect it and move your in-game character.
It should be noted that using the Shred controller in the new Tony Hawk's Pro Skater release might be a little tricky, if not impossible. From a quick search, the Skateboard controller is wireless, but connects to its legacy platforms using a dongle. Even if you somehow managed to hook one up to your gaming PC, I wouldn't start counting your trick scores before they land.
As charming as the Shred controller was in its day, it was notoriously unreliable. So much so, that even pre-owned shops sometimes hesitate to buy them these days. It also doesn't help that support for this one-off controller hasn't really been in any games since.
For example, YouTuber Mudan had loads of trouble using the Shred board two years ago, and that was with the game and platform it was designed for.
Either way, it's nice to know that this oddball piece of gaming history is still available in some capacity. I wouldn't necessarily try to buy one to use in the new THPS3 remake, but if anyone wants to reminisce, the option is there.
More retro gaming gear:
- Super Pocket: Under $60 at Amazon
- Atari 2600+: $129.99 at Amazon
- SNEX Classic Mini: View classic consoles at Amazon
Want a controller that's more up to date? Check out the best PS5 controllers, the best Xbox Series X controllers, and the best Nintendo Switch controllers.
