1080° Snowboarding

Players control snowboarders in various modes. 1080° features two trick modes (Trick Attack and Contest), three race modes (Race, Time Attack, and 2 Players), a Training mode, and an Options mode. The objective of the game is either to reach a level's finish line as quickly as possible or to achieve the highest score by executing trick combinations.

In 1080°'s two trick modes, Trick Attack and Contest, players earn points by completing tricks. In Contest mode, players perform tricks and snowboard past flags to gain points. In Trick Attack mode, players must perform a series of tricks throughout a designated level. The game includes 24 tricks and 5 secret tricks, all executed through combinations of circular movements of the control stick, along with the R, Z, and B buttons.

1080°'s release was announced on 21 November 1997 at Nintendo's Space World trade show, with its working title previously being Vertical Edge Snowboarding. 1080° was one of several snowboarding games released for the Nintendo 64 in 1998, alongside titles like Big Mountain 2000 and Snowboard Kids. Before its official release, journalists were able to play 1080° at the January 1998 Nintendo Gamers' Summit.

1080° was directed by Masamichi Abe and Misthuro Tanako, programmed by English developers Giles Goddard and Colin Reed, and developed and published by Nintendo. The game was produced by Shigeru Miyamoto. Abe had previously directed Tekken 3 for Namco, while Goddard had programmed the Mario face in Super Mario 64, which was released two years earlier to critical and commercial success. Reed had previously programmed Stunt Race FX.

1080° Snowboarding received "generally favorable reviews," according to Metacritic, falling just two points short of "universal acclaim". Nintendo Power stated that "Whether you like freeriding or going for Phat Air, you're going to have fun in 1080°." Josh Smith from GameSpot called it "one of the best values in both sports and racing gaming". The game was widely recognized as a leader among snowboarding titles at the time. Edge described it as the "most convincing video game emulation of the snowboarding experience so far," noting its serious tone, which contrasted with other Nintendo games.

The game's graphics were highly praised for their quality on the Nintendo 64. Smith lauded the graphics for their crispness, smoothness, and detail, with minimal polygon dropout. Reviewers also praised the game's camera work, realistic physics model, and its depiction of speed. The game's snow effects were particularly highlighted, as sun reflections varied appropriately between fluffy and packed snow, which also behaved differently in-game. Minor graphical issues, such as occasional pop-up, misplaced shadows, and slight lag when racers passed through trees, were noted but considered insignificant.