I thought that Electronic Arts wasn’t going to do this, but it looks like the “Skate” series is turning into a yearly thing, which isn’t a move that I condole – I’ll talk more about that later. Anyway, Electronic Arts announced the third installment into their “Skate” franchise, Skate 3. And, unlike the first two games, Skate 3 centers more around forming a skate crew and taking on rival crews.

Scheduled to release in May 2010, “players can now team up with one an other to build the ultimate skate crew in the definitive skateboarding co-op experience” – reads the press release. In a move to depart from the past Skate titles, Skate 3 lets players leave their mark on the all-new skater’s paradise, Port Carverton. “We’re giving gamers a very unique experience by providing them with the tools they need to build their ultimate team or to create a team comprised entirely of their online friends. From there, it’s all about proving yourself – teaming up, and throwing down,” added Senior Producer, Jason DeLong.

Featuring an all-new co-op mode in where teammates can complete challenges together while advancing each other’s careers, the game will retain some of the classic features the rewarding epic bails and fails with a beefed up Hall of Meat mode to honing your craft with the all-new skate.School, in were players of all skill levels have multiple ways to “kill it” in the game. The franchise also continues to raise the bar for user created content with the skate.Create feature suite, an innovative toolset that empowers gamers to truly express their skate style by creating their own graphics, videos, and skate parks. Being developed by Black Box, an Electronic Arts studio, Skate 3 will be released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in May 2010.