1080° Avalanche

1080° Avalanche is a snowboarding game for the GameCube, developed by Nintendo's in-house development studio, Nintendo Software Technology Corporation, and published by Nintendo. Avalanche is a sequel to 1080° Snowboarding, originally released for the Nintendo 64. The game has an emphasis on racing, rather than doing tricks, in contrast to other popular snowboarding games, such as the SSX series. It can output in 480p, has support for Dolby Pro Logic II sound systems, and supports four players on one GameCube as well as LAN play with up to three other GameCube consoles.

Gameplay
Gameplay in 1080° Avalanche is similar to that of the original, centering around racing more than performing stunts. The only large gameplay difference between 1080° "and the original is the ability to knock down opponents by running into them after filling a meter by performing tricks. A trick attack mode was added and has three unique courses.

Unlike the first game, each rider had specific boards to them, and up to five could be unlocked throughout the game. There were also bonus boards, which were surreal objects replacing the snowboard, such as a penguin or NES controller.

Development
In 1999, it was confirmed a sequel to 1080° Snowboarding was coming to the Nintendo 64. Second-party studio Left Field was responsible for development. When the game failed to materialise, it was confirmed the game was no longer being produced for the N64, but for the GameCube. Not long after this announcement, it was also confirmed Left Field was revoking its status as a second-party studio so it could develop multi-format titles.

Development of the game was handed to Nintendo's American development studio, Nintendo Software Technology Corporation (NST). They originally planned to call it 1080°: White Storm (after Wave Race: Blue Storm), before finally renaming it 1080° Avalanche.

Releases
1080°: Avalanche was released in two different versions; a single disc edition, and a dual disc edition. The second disc was not a game disc, but rather a mini-DVD, featuring half an hour of extreme snow sports footage, set to music from the game. This version was only available at Wal-Mart, and is differentiated by a red sash on the front cover.