Get off your couch and play skateboarding.

“Pull off a radical half pipe move from the comfort of your living room couch.” Actually, I think you need to get off the couch and stand on this thing to play the game.

Radica makes a series of games called Play TV which are cheap video games linked with a controller that resembles the equipment of the sport that the game mimics. Hence Play TV Skateboarding.

Pull off a radical half pipe move from the comfort of your living room couch. This action-packed game plugs directly into your TV and lets you play through a series of mini-games in two different game modes. Choose from three different skaters and pull off terrific tricks and moves with a combination of joystick buttons and board movements. Requires 6 AA batteries, not included.

I haven’t seen this thing in person, but I imagine it sucks is mildly amusing. The concept for the controller is a good one, but at this price level it will likely be frustratingly hard to callibrate. Of course, this assumes that the game design itself is any good, which judging from the screen shots is purely bad 80’s era video game technology. Even the course looks like it’s 80’s vintage. Do they even have cars in street contests anymore? Hey, what do you expect from a cheap home console game? Probably not the level of imersion you get from skateboard games possible with the Wii motion sensitve controller.

This simple video game system plugs directly into a television and translates a childs motion into real-time tricks and movements as players navigate multiple urban skateboard challenges such as timed races, slalom and obstacle courses, half-pipe environments, free skating, and tournament play.

If you want to buy this, it’s available for an overpriced $70 at most places like Hammacher Schlemmer and Amazon, so head on over to K-Mart, and if they are still in business you can pick one up for $40. Just think, in a couple of years it should right at $20, which seems about right to me.