And finally (unfortunately I don't have a link but read it on Twitter) it appears that Tony Hawk's License agreement with Activision ends after this year, so it looks like this may be a disgusting attempt by the company to essentially bury the franchise before it comes up on the market, which if that's the case, Kotick can walk in front of a train.
Proof of license agreement: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/tony-hawk-signs-new-deal-with-activision/1100-2875474/
So it looks like they were just trying to cash in on the name with one more game before the agreement ended, which ALWAYS leads to good results..