Last year’s Skate from EA was a game that breathed new life into the genre by offering players some of the deepest immersion that had ever been applied to a skateboarding game. EA’s title dethroned Activision’s Tony Hawk franchise and became a runaway success, spawning a legion of fans in the process. But while a hit on the PS3 and 360, the Wii and DS, despite being the leading consoles on the market, didn’t get a piece of the action.

EA looks to change that now, as they’ve announced that Skate It, a spin-off of Skate, is coming to both the Wii and the DS. IGN recently sat down with EA’s Scott Blackwood to get the scoop on the game, here’s some of the finer points of what was discussed:

• Skate It isn’t a quick port to cash-in on the success the franchise has had, the game went into development right after the original version was released for the other systems
• Black Box, who designed the original title, are co-developing the title with EA Montreal
• Skate It will retain the core Skate game engine but utilizes “all-new technology specific to Wii”
• You’ll be able to use the Wii Balance board to play, or the standard Wii remote controls
• No online

There’s no definite release date yet, but look for Skate It to arrive sometime in 2008.

The press release announcing Skate It also officially confirmed the existence of Skate 2, which is being developed for the 360 and PS3.

[See also: Skate It gallery]