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==External links==
==External links==
*{{Nintendo.com-archive|id=m-Game-0000-39|title=1080° Snowboarding}}
*{{Nintendo.com-archive|id=m-Game-0000-39|title=1080° Snowboarding}}
*[http://www.authspot.com/Poetry/Amber-Eyes-Into-the-Night.107444 Official Japanese website] {{ja icon}}
*[http://www.authspot.com/Poetry/Amber-Eyes-Into-the-Night.107444 Official Japanese website]


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Revision as of 01:27, 20 May 2008

1080° Snowboarding
1080° Snowboarding U.S. N64 box cover
Developer(s)Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Designer(s)Shigeru Miyamoto (producer)[3]
Hiroshi Yamauchi (executive producer) [3]
Giles Goddard (main programmer)[3]
Colin Reed (programmer)[3]
Platform(s)Nintendo 64, Virtual Console
ReleaseNintendo 64
Virtual Console
Genre(s)Racing, extreme sports
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

1080° Snowboarding (テン・エイティ　スノーボーディング, Ten Eiti Sunōbōdingu) is a multiplayer snowboard racing video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 and first released in Japan on February 22, 1998.[2] The player controls one of five playable snowboarders from a third-person perspective using a combination of buttons to jump and perform tricks over eight levels.

1080° was announced on November 21, 1997 and developed over nine months; it garnered critical acclaim and won an Interactive Achievement Award from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.[4][5] 1080° sold over a million units, and a sequel, 1080° Avalanche, was released for the Nintendo GameCube on November 28, 2003.

Gameplay

The player controls a snowboarder in one of six modes. 1080° has two trick modes (trick attack and contest),[6] three race modes (race, time attack, and multiplayer),[7] a training mode, and an options mode.[8] The objective of the game is either to arrive quickly at a level's finish line or to receive maximum points for trick combinations.

Trick modes

In 1080°'s two trick modes, trick attack and contest, players accrue points from completed tricks.[9] In contest mode, players perform tricks and snowboard past flags for points. Trick attack mode requires players to perform a series of tricks throughout a designated level. The game features 25 tricks, all of which are performed by using a combination of circular positions of the control stick, the R button, and the B button; point values are allocated based on complexity and required time.[9] The two types of tricks are grab tricks, in which the board is grabbed in a specific way, or spin tricks, in which the snowboarder spins the board a certain number of degrees.[10] The 1080° spin requires nine actions, the most of any trick in the game.[11]

A screenshot from a match race in 1080° Snowboarding

Race modes

1080° has three race modes; in these modes, victory can be achieved by taking separate routes within a course and balancing the snowboarder after a jump to avoid speed loss.[12] Tricks are scored in race modes, but do not count toward victory.[12]

In match race mode, the player competes in a series of races against AI-controlled snowboarders.[13] The game times the player throughout the level and players receive a damage meter which fills if the snowboarder falls down or is knocked over. The difficulty level in match races can be set to easy, medium, or hard, adjusting the complexity and number of races. If the player fails at defeating an AI competitor, they must retire. The player is given three chances to beat the computer before the game is over.[12][14]

Characters

File:Characters.PNG
The characters of 1080° from left to right: Rob Haywood, Akari Hayami, Ricky Winterborn, Kensuke Kimachi, and Dion Blaster[1]

Players may initially choose from five snowboarding characters: two from Japan, and one each from Canada, America, and the United Kingdom. Each snowboarder has different abilities and is suited for different levels and modes, since each has varying statistics in fields such as technique, speed, and weight.[15][16] Three additional snowboarders are unlocked by completing certain game levels and modes.[16] Eight snowboards are initially available for every character, and one additional snowboard may be unlocked later in the game. Each board also excels in different situations, since each have different strengths in categories such as balance and edge control.[16]

Development

1080°'s release was announced on November 21, 1997 at Nintendo's SpaceWorld trade show; the game's working title was then Vertical Edge Snowboarding.[17] 1080° was one of several snowboarding games released for the Nintendo 64 in 1998, others being Big Mountain 2000 and Snowboard Kids.[17] Before the game's release, journalists were able to play 1080° at the January 1998 Nintendo Gamers' Summit.[18]

1080° was programmed by Englishmen Giles Goddard and Colin Reed, developed and published by Nintendo, and produced by Shigeru Miyamoto.[3] Goddard and Reed had previously programmed Wave Race 64,[19] which sold over a million copies and was a huge commercial success. Its sequel, Wave Race: Blue Storm, would feature characters from 1080°.[20]

When developing 1080°, Goddard and Reed used a technique called "skinning" to eliminate joints between the polygons composing the characters. Their programming used a combination of standard animation and inverse kinematics, creating characters whose appearance during collisions is affected what object is hit, what direction the collision occurs in, and the speed at which the collision takes place.[21] Tommy Hilfiger outfits and Lamar snowboards appear throughout 1080° as product placement.[22] 1080°'s soundtrack of "techno and rappy beats" with "thrashy, foozed-out vocals" was composed by Kenta Nagata,[3][10] who also composed soundtracks for Mario Kart 64 and other Nintendo games.[23]

1080°'s development took place from April or May 1997 to March 1998.[21] The game was released on February 28, 1998 in Japan[1] and on April 1, 1998 in North America.[2] Nintendo delayed the game's European release because they hoped to boost sales with a winter release;[24] 1080° was eventually released on November 30, 1998, in Europe and the PAL region.[2]

Reception and legacy

Critical reception

Critical reviews
Publication Score
All Game Guide
4.5 out of 5[25]
Edge
8 out of 10[26]
Game Informer
9.25 out of 10[27]
Game Revolution
B+[12]
Gamebits
8.2 out of 10[28]
GamePro
5 out of 5[29]
GameSpot
8.6 out of 10[30]
Gaming Target
8.4 out of 10[4]
IGN
8.6 out of 10[10]

Critics generally praised 1080°, which had an average score of 88/100 on Metacritic and 90% on Game Rankings.[4][31] It won the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' 1999 Console Sports Game of the Year award[5] and was called "one of the best values in both sports and racing gaming" by Gamespot.[30] 1080° has been perceived to be a leader among snowboarding titles at the time since it was "so good...that it took publishing giant Electronic Arts several years and a far more powerful console to give it solid competition" in the form of the SSX franchise.[32] Edge hailed it as the "most convincing videogame emulation of the snowboarding experience so far" with an "atmosphere of sobriety" unlike any other Nintendo game at the time.[33]

The game's graphics were of the highest quality for the Nintendo 64 at the time.[33][34] Critics praised general aspects of the game's graphics such as their crispness, detail, smoothness, and lack of polygon dropout.[28][30] More specifically, critics praised the game's camera use, the game's "very solid" physics model,[30] the impression of racers' speed, and the game's snow effects (sun reflected in the snow as appropriate, and fluffy snow and packed snow appeared and behaved differently).[10][28] Graphical faults identified by critics included occasional pop-up, misplaced shadows, and lag when racers passed through on-track trees;[10] these problems were generally identified as minor.[30]

Although writing a positive review, Edge found faults in the game's AI; they asserted 1080° suffered from “cheating” CPU opponents.[33] They criticized the AI's simplicity and ability to quickly catch up to the player near the end of a race; they also noted the AI's "limited series of predetermined routes" and the possibility of a player learning where and when an AI falls over, "offering an opportunity to pass [the computer], but conveying little satisfaction with it."[33] Edge also stated that the PAL release delay "is frankly ludicrous."[35] They believed that, due to Nintendo's slump of noteworthy releases, "any quality title is likely to top the charts with little difficulty."[35]

All Game Guide considered the "highly technical" control scheme of 1080° one of the game's strengths despite its initial difficulty.[25] CVG positively reviewed the control scheme, but disagreed on its difficulty, noting "the controls have been implemented so brilliantly that you're able to play perfectly well with just one hand on the stick and Z button."[34] GameSpot called the game's control "thoroughly involving" and said that "[t]he crouch move alone - which makes for supertight turns - makes this fun to play."[30] The music was also generally praised, with IGN calling it "a shining example of what can be achieved on the format"[10] and All Game Guide calling it "one of the best N64 soundtracks to date."[25] Gamebits, however, criticized the soundtrack as "minimal" and insufficient.[28] 1080°'s sound effects were critically praised as "some perfect sound effects" and "nice as well."[25][28]

File:1080 trophy.PNG
The 1080° Snowboarding trophy in Super Smash Bros Melee

In a retrospective review by the Official Nintendo Magazine in 2006, Steve Jarratt commented that 1080° "boasted the best videogame representation of snow," and was complimented by "swooshy" sound effects."[36] Positive comments were also made about handling and the quality of the multiplayer, despite its age.[36] In summary, Jarratt believed "this was a straight-up snowboarder, stunt-free but fast and fun."

Sales and legacy

1080° sold 1,230,000 units in total,[37] with over 23,000 in Japan.[38] However, its programmers' first game, Wave Race 64, sold 1,950,000 units in total with 154,000 in Japan.[37][38] In 2001, one of 1080°'s snowboarders, Kensuke Kimachi, appeared on a trophy in the game Super Smash Bros. Melee.[39] 1080° Avalanche, a sequel to 1080°, was released for the Nintendo GameCube in 2003; Avalanche received a harsher critical reception, averaging 73/100 on Metacritic,[40] due to "frame rate issues and limited gameplay".[41] 1080° was re-released on Nintendo's Virtual Console service in Japan on January 15, 2008, Europe on January 18, 2008 and North America on January 28, 2008.[42]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Official website" (in Japanese). Nintendo of Japan. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  2. ^ a b c d e "1080: TenEighty Snowboarding". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "1080: TenEighty Snowboarding Tech Info". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  4. ^ a b c "1080 Snowboarding". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  5. ^ a b "Console Sports Game of the Year". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2007-04-23.
  6. ^ 1080 Snowboarding Instruction Booklet. Japan: Nintendo. 1998. pp. p. 15–16. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  7. ^ 1080 Snowboarding Instruction Booklet. Japan: Nintendo. 1998. pp. pp. 12–15, 17. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  8. ^ 1080 Snowboarding Instruction Booklet. Japan: Nintendo. 1998. pp. pp. 4–6. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  9. ^ a b "1080° Snowboarding". All Game Guide. Retrieved 2007-05-14.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Casamassina, Matt (1998-04-02). "1080° Snowboarding". IGN. Retrieved 2007-04-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Operation Card for 1080° Snowboarding. Nintendo Co., Ltd. 1998.
  12. ^ a b c d "1080 Snowboarding - N64". Game Revolution. 2004-06-06. Retrieved 2007-04-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ 1080 Snowboarding Instruction Booklet. Japan: Nintendo. 1998. pp. p. 12. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  14. ^ 1080 Snowboarding Instruction Booklet. Japan: Nintendo. 1998. pp. pp. 12–13. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  15. ^ "1080 Snowboarding (n64)". G4. 1999-04-20. Retrieved 2007-05-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ a b c "1080° Snowboarding". Prima Games. 1999-12-09. Retrieved 2007-06-03.
  17. ^ a b IGN Staff (1997-11-21). "Head for the Slopes". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ IGN Staff (1998-01-30). "1080 Shreds the Competition". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  19. ^ "1080 Snowboarding". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-04-20.
  20. ^ Schneider, Peer. "Wave Race: Blue Storm Characters". IGN. pp. p. 9. Retrieved 2007-06-03. {{cite web}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  21. ^ a b IGN Staff (1998-03-19). "1080 Snowboarding Interview". IGN. Retrieved 2007-04-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ "1080 Snowboarding (N64)". GameSpy. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
  23. ^ "Mario Kart 64 Tech Info". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
  24. ^ IGN Staff (1998-03-26). "1080 Delayed in Europe". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ a b c d Sackenheim, Shawn. "1080° Snowboarding". All Game Guide. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  26. ^ "1080º SNOWBOARDING". Edge. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
  27. ^ Reiner, Andrew. "1080: Avalanche". Game Informer. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
  28. ^ a b c d e Gagne, Ken (1998-05-11). "1080 SNOWBOARDING". Gamebits. Retrieved 2007-04-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ AIRHENDRIX (2004-04-23). "Review: 1080 Snowboarding". GamePro. Retrieved 2007-05-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  30. ^ a b c d e f Smith, Josh (1998-05-25). "1080:TenEighty Snowboarding". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-04-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ "1080° Snowboarding". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  32. ^ Casamassina, Matt (2003-12-01). "1080: Avalanche". IGN. Retrieved 2007-05-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  33. ^ a b c d "1080° Snowboarding", Edge, no. 57, Future Publishing, pp. pp. 86–88, April 1998 {{citation}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  34. ^ a b Constantides, Alex (2001-08-15). "1080 Snowboarding". Computer and Video Games. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  35. ^ a b "1080° Snowboarding", Edge, no. 62, Future Publishing, pp. p. 96, September 1998 {{citation}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  36. ^ a b Jarratt, Steve (2006). "What do you mean, you've never played 1080° Snowboarding". Official Nintendo Magazine. p. 19. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  37. ^ a b "US Platinum Videogame Chart". The Magic Box. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  38. ^ a b "Nintendo 64 Japanese Ranking". Japan Game Charts. Retrieved 2007-11-13.
  39. ^ "Text List". Super Smash Bros Arena. Gamespy. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  40. ^ "1080° Avalanche". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  41. ^ Kasavin, Greg (2003-12-03). "1080 Avalanche". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-04-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  42. ^ "Virtual Console". Nintendo. Retrieved 2008-01-12.

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