SSX is a snowboarding video game, the first in the SSX series. It was developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports BIG label for the PlayStation 2 in October 2000. It was the first title released under the EA Sports Big publishing label, which specialized in extreme sports titles with an arcade feel. SSX received widespread critical acclaim and commercial success, while also receiving numerous industry awards and was widely regarded by critics as one of the standouts of the PlayStation 2's launch games. The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences gave the game five awards, including "Console Sports Game of the Year", "Console Racing Game of the Year" and "Console Game of the Year". The executive producer and creative leader was Steve Rechtschaffner, who was also the inventor of the Olympic snowboard event called boardercross, which served as the inspiration for the game.
Subsequent titles in the SSX series include, in order of release, SSX Tricky (2001), SSX 3 (2003), SSX on Tour (2005), SSX Blur (2007), and SSX (2012), the final installment. Rechtschaffner led the development of SSX, SSX Tricky, and SSX 3,[8] before moving into the chief creative officer role for EA Canada. He had no involvement in the other titles in the series.
