Tony Hawk's SIRIUS Satellite Radio Show Integrated into Video Game

We sincerely apologise for the using the word convergence in this story (and the previous one and maybe even the next story too) – it’s just that there’s a lot of it going round. If you haven’t heard of skateboarder, entrepreneur and living legend Tony Hawk then you’ve probably been in a coma for the last decade. Hawk the youth icon gets a mention because his latest American Wasteland video game hits the stores today and includes a unique cross-media integration and promotion with his weekly SIRIUS Satellite Radio show. The tight integration and promotion will assist in the migration of an entire cultural subset to the new satellite medium – while skateboarders play the best selling (it will be because all the previous ones have been) game for hundreds of hours, their brain will be hypnotised, x-rayed, tattooed and thoroughly impregnated with the sounds, interface and benefits of satellite radio – and to think they used to worry about the effects of subliminal advertising.

Hawk's American Wasteland is a new title in which players can continuously skate or BMX bike through a streaming Los Angeles city without leaving the game or waiting for load times, as they explore and play through missions while experiencing various aspects of SIRIUS Satellite Radio.

SIRIUS branding is part of the game's song identification feature that displays the current music track the player is listening to via a rendering of a SIRIUS receiver. SIRIUS logos can be seen in customization options (such as Create-A-Skater and Create-A-Graphic modes), as well as on billboards and buildings in the game's Los Angeles cityscapes. Players are also prompted by audio cues voiced by Tony Hawk that refer to his Demolition Radio show, heard exclusively on SIRIUS.

Tony Hawk said, "It gives me the unique opportunity to merge my worlds of gaming, skating and my Demolition Radio show into our best game yet."

"The way SIRIUS and Tony's Demolition Radio show are integrated into Tony Hawk's American Wasteland clearly demonstrates how unique and compelling radio content can translate to other major entertainment platforms," said Scott Greenstein, SIRIUS President of Entertainment and Sports.

SIRIUS will be supporting the game's release with contesting on several music channels, on its web site and in information provided to its subscribers. Tony Hawk will feature music from the game's soundtrack as well as its stand-alone soundtrack CD on his Demolition Radio show.

Tony Hawk's Demolition Radio on SIRIUS features Tony's personal slant on the action sports lifestyle, his favourite music, and conversations with special guests and listeners. It can be heard exclusively on SIRIUS Tuesdays at 7 pm ET on Faction channel 28, the channel created by SIRIUS for action sports enthusiasts that also features such hosts as Bam Margera, Lance Armstrong, Bode Miller, Jonny Moseley, Kelly Slater and others. The show is also repeated on Wednesdays at 12 am ET and on Sundays at 10 pm ET.