Was the N64's Last Game a GameCube Ad?

The Nintendo 64's final game was Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3… but why did it arrive nearly a year after the game launched on newer consoles? And was there something more suspicious going on? In August 2002, the Nintendo 64 received what would become its final official game release in North America: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. By this point, the GameCube was already on store shelves, the PlayStation 2 was thriving, and the N64 was a console that most of the gaming industry had already moved on from. So why release a new game for a discontinued console when a better version was already available? In this video, we're looking back at the strange story of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 on the Nintendo 64, comparing it with the GameCube and PlayStation 2 versions, exploring the compromises made to get it running on the ageing hardware, and asking whether its bizarre release timing was simply a late port or something more interesting. The N64 version had a reduced soundtrack, missing content, less detailed environments and the familiar fog that made some levels harder to navigate. Meanwhile, the newer versions offered a more complete experience on more powerful hardware. And that raises an interesting question: could the N64's final game have been the perfect advert for upgrading to the GameCube? I'm not suggesting there's proof that Nintendo and Activision deliberately planned this. But when you look at the timing, the differences between the versions, and the circumstances surrounding the N64's final release, it's hard not to wonder. Was this just a publisher trying to squeeze a few more sales out of an ageing console, or was there another reason for releasing Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 so late? Let's revisit one of the strangest moments in Nintendo 64 history and see what you think. #n64 #tonyhawksproskater3 #nintendo64