Hello fellow board fiends. Last month we took a dive "down" to the Southern Hemisphere. And unless you were lucky enough to head that way, or are planning to, you're still stuck with me sweating it out north of the equator.
So, if your mind can't stop conjuring the fantasy of colder temps, the world of technology beckons. Reach for a controller, a joystick, or a VR headset and prepare to live vicariously through animated ones and zeros personified by names like “Yaggi” and “Psymon Stark.” Though there is plenty of research regarding the potential ill-effects of excessive gaming, there is at least a small chance that it could make you a better athlete, and by that logic, maybe even a better snowboarder? "MOM, I told you: it's TRAIN-ING!!!"
Got one of these near you? If you go once a week all summer maybe you'll be ready for your local banked slalom come winter.
The history of our beloved sport’s maneuvers being mapped to a series of directions on a d-pad spans more than 30 years. The Wikipedia list of snowboarding video games clocks in at 81 titles, and that's not including mobile-exclusive.
If you're looking for a contemporary, simulation-style option, you've got Steep, which came out in 2016. There's also Shredders. Shredders released in 2022, and it has Zeb Powell and Jill Perkins in it. So this feels like the obvious choice (not being paid to say that either, it's just like my opinion, man).
This is virtually Zeb, literally.
With the history of snowboard video games littered with financial behemoths like ESPN, MTV, and Microsoft, plus the existence of relatively well-known classics like Amped 1-3, SSX, Cool Boarders, and 1080°, I was curious why an independent studio like the one responsible for Shredders would even attempt to re-invent the wheel.
I reached out to Dirk Van Welden, studio director and creative lead at Foampunch, the outfit that released the game. In short, I asked, "why?" Dirk hit me with a whole bunch of reasons and details on the creation Shredders:
"When we started development back in 2019, there hadn't been a solid snowboarding game in years. We wanted to bring the feeling of snowboarding to a level it had never really been at [in a video game]. Shredders was inspired by a bunch of older games, and we tried to pull the best parts of each into our own dream snowboarding game.
Most of the team are grassroots snowboarders themselves. We wanted the riding to feel as close to the real thing as possible while staying fun for anyone to pick up. The locations are either inspired by snowboard movies or places we have a personal connection to. Mainstream players won't notice that, but if you're a snowboarder, you'll see and hear it everywhere.
As for going independent: bigger publishers rarely take risks like this. A new IP, aimed at a rather small, specific audience, isn't an easy pitch. Being independent gave us the freedom to focus on what actually matters."
Admittedly, I'm not a huge gamer these days, but I did buy and play a few hours of Shredders to see what the hype is about. The controls actual "feel" like snowboarding, and it's hard, in a good way. To be completely honest, I had to delete it because I have an addictive personality. Bygone era, though? I'd be locked TF in.
Speaking of different eras, I used to be capital-O obsessed, with Cool Boarders 2 for Playstation 1. Released in 1997, it coincided exactly with my budding obsession with IRL snowboarding, and it is imprinted into my brain in a way that few other things are. This game is likely known to boarders over 35, but I had to kick this section off with it for nostalgia's sake. The weird sense-memory that started flowing through me watching the video below was wild.
Anyone know who’s on the cover? Lien air, Burton board, red jacket?
Further hopping down this simulation rabbit-hole, I got curious what level of stardom was needed in order to get your name on a game. While Tony Hawk reigns supreme on the skateboard side of things (I think the Skate franchise is superior, by the way), snowboard games associated with our famed brethren haven't quite reached icon status like the Birdman's progeny. The titles are as follows: Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder (2001), Shaun White Snowboarding (2008), Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage (2009), and Mark McMorris Infinite Air (2016).
Oh, also, there's this game: Stoked Rider ft. Tommy Brunner (2006). This one was PC only, and seems pretty ahead of it's time, with an open-world layout and a focus on backcountry powder riding over gimmicky gameplay (though bubble-head rocket guy at the end of the trailer argues otherwise). Tragically, just two weeks after it's release, Tommy Brunner died in an avalanche in the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, casting a much darker tone over the language used to promote the game.
I wasn't familiar with Brunner or his riding before this. Sick style, and I found some of his AK footage too, which was really crazy. Do some digging if you have the time.
Some of the more bizarre and entertaining examples I ran into can be found below.
Y'all should at least watch the intro for this one. Rock'n Riders (1999) for Playstation 1 is a Japanese release where the premise appears to be that you are a member of a Rock 'n Roll band who also snowboards, and who is also running from some malevolent force, and you also snowboard on the beach? Physical copies of this one run a pretty penny. Nostalgia is a powerful drug.
MTV even got in during the snowboard video game heyday with MTV Sports: Snowboarding, featuring an intro comprised of mostly JP Walker footage. Hopefully he got the bag on this one. Worth a watch for the intro and a touch of the gameplay. Songs are kind of sick: some whiny pop-punk followed by a Gary Newman track? I approve.
A couple outliers to wrap things up. First up is Grand Mountain Adventure 2, which you can play on a phone or PC. I actually downloaded it just so I could write this. It's kind of goofy and calming at the same time. You can do some tricks, and the controls and physics are unique and satisfying to use, good one for a plane ride or sitting at the DMV.
Finally, I wanted to check out what "the future" may hold. This game Carve Snowboarding for Oculus Quest 2 looks truly horrendous, but the video of the guy playing and trying to pull off tricks is worth a watch and a chuckle. Maybe one day there'll be a fully immersive version where you can actually get better at riding, or get hurt in the confines of your own living room, or parent's basement for that matter.
Related, but only vaguely so: wouldn't it be a strange twist if, 15 years down the line, nerds obsessed with video games end up accidentally ridiculously ripped from clocking time on their VR treadmills with haptic feedback?
Well that about wraps it for this iteration. My real advice for summer and the lack of snow? Go outside, chop it up, get in trouble. In short, be like these kids.
Bottom of the newsletter, thanks for going deep again. Here's some more "Bizarre Boards": Rad-Air Snowboards, Size Matters.