Electronic Arts has released the Skate 3 demo for download on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms. Considering the failure of Tony Hawk Ride and the new Shaun White skateboarding game upcoming from Ubisoft, this release looks to be a pivotal one for the company.

The skateboarding arena has taken quite a beating over the lack of innovation, but when EA released the first Skate title, things seemed to change; the title offered more innovation in a number of areas that was giving it an edge over then champ, Tony Hawk. Since that time, Activision has attempted to reinvent its title with the release of Ride, which features that skateboard controller that no one liked. In the meantime, EA released Skate 2, which continued the innovation and turned out to give it the lead in this market space.

From what we can see in the Skate 3 demo, EA has pushed the limited envelope with new innovation and better game play which continue to give the franchise an edge. While it is too soon to tell what the sales numbers will look like for Skate 3, we have to think that it will once again be popular. Both Activision and Ubisoft are going to be chasing Skate 3; and catching it will require a lot of hard work and some luck.