Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

One skateboarding game helped launch an entire wave of action-sports imitators.

Skateboarding games already existed, but Neversoft made the sport immediately readable as an arcade game.

Tricks fed the score, while each level invited players to find lines through ramps and rails. Career mode mixed score targets with exploration. S-K-A-T-E letters and secret tapes made every course something to learn rather than simply cross once.

That structure became a template for the action-sports boom that followed. For years, publishers chased the same blend of open levels, objectives and trick scoring, while Tony Hawk became a major annual franchise.

Outside games, the soundtrack and its character roster introduced millions to skate culture. Later professional skaters have credited the series with helping spark their own interest in the sport.