10 Best Launch Video Games Ever

SSX is definitely not the best game on the list, and by most measures wouldn’t even be higher than fellow PS2 launch title, Tekken Tag Tournament. However, nothing quite sums up the attitude of the year 2000 like SSX.

The snowboarding sim had the just the right amount of rebellion with a pop punk sound track and heavy focus on busting out tricks. Plus, as Futurama’s Bender once said, ‘the X makes it sound cool’.

It was the first title released under EA Sports: Big, which is probably the best indication of just how gnarly gaming was trying to be back then, dude. The fact that Big was used on less than ten games before being quietly put away also shows how short lived this attitude was.

While a few of these games came across like Poochie the Rockin’ Dog, SSX was pure, unbridled fun. Arcade gaming at a time when arcades were dying out, SSX didn’t care about reality or immersive experiences, it just wanted you to trick out to your heart’s content.

Few would argue PlayStation has gone downhill by focusing on grittier IPs like The Last Of Us, but back when the PS2 dropped all they cared about was having fun.