Millennium Edition | Nintendo, SEGA, and Games of the 2000s

Dozens of snowboarding games came out in the 2000s, with some months seeing three or four new titles all launching within days of each other. Developers had to work to find their own unique angles on the sport, whether it was the gravity-defying tricks of the fantastic SSX series, the freestyle snowboarding of the Amped series, or even the Tony Hawk-adjacent Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder. With so many games to choose from, a game that may have slid under some players' radars is Nintendo's own 1080° Avalanche. Gooey is back in the hosting seat for this episode, joined by McKenna and Sean, as they break down the history and development of this successor to the Nintendo 64 classic 1080° Snowboarding. A sort of cousin to Wave Race: Blue Storm (it's even called 1080° Silverstorm in Japan), Avalanche builds on its Nintendo 64 predecessor with a variety of new modes and gameplay twists. And while it may not have the more robust trick system or longer single-player campaigns of the SSX series, with immersive environmental effects and a wild sense of speed, it may be one of the best of the era when it comes to intense snowboard racing. If you enjoyed this show, please consider following us in your podcast player and leaving a positive review. For any five-star reviews left with names, we will personally thank you on the show.Our 2000s-inspired theme music is by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/), and our show art is by Andrew (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone).Millennium Edition is a Sound Stone Network original podcast. If you liked this show, we invite you to check out the rest of our lineup:Kirby Conversations: Air riding through over 30 years of Kirby and HAL Laboratory with Sean, Bridge, and WiKirby Editor-in-Chief GigiFlashback 64: the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast with Gooey and McKennaPixels and Polygons: a conversational video game podcast of short interviews from Darren Hupke...and a weekly livestream on video game manuals from Nic McConnell, Instruction DerbyOur YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/@SoundStone-Network.

After the Dreamcast was discontinued in 2001, SEGA found itself navigating a new identity as a third-party developer. And while it may have been jarring at the time to see SEGA's flagship series on hardware that wasn't their own, their relationships with Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony led to the continued release of excellent, inspired, and in some cases just very strange, games between 2001 and 2003. Darren Hupke hosts this episode, joined by Andrew Elmore (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone) and Nick aka PandaMonium (https://bsky.app/profile/pandamonium.bsky.social), who bring their expertise on all things SEGA to this far-ranging discussion. From Jet Set Radio Future to 18 Wheeler: American Pro Trucker, this is our longest episode of Millennium Edition yet as we explore what happened to SEGA after the Dreamcast.You can find some of Andrew's work, including his amazing Namco Museum Museum, at https://www.youtube.com/@MythicResonance. And you can watch Nick's extremely entertaining and well-researched coverage of the Sega Saturn at https://www.youtube.com/@PandaMoniumReviews. Our 2000s-inspired theme music is by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/), and our show art is by Andrew (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone).If you enjoyed this show, please consider following us in your podcast player and leaving a positive review. For any five-star reviews left with names, we will personally thank you on the show.Millennium Edition is a Sound Stone Network original podcast. If you liked this show, we invite you to check out the rest of our lineup:Kirby Conversations: Air riding through over 30 years of Kirby and HAL Laboratory with Sean, Bridge, and WiKirby Editor-in-Chief GigiFlashback 64: the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast with Gooey and McKennaPixels and Polygons: a conversational video game podcast of short interviews from Darren Hupke...and a weekly livestream on video game manuals from Nic McConnell, Instruction DerbyOur YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/@SoundStone-Network.

With its wit, style, and clever movie-inspired gameplay mechanics, Viewtiful Joe was a critical hit for Capcom in 2003. Joe returned over the next few years for several more games, a manga, and even a TV show, but there hasn't been a new entry in the series since 2005. What happened to Viewtiful Joe, and would Capcom ever finally make a Viewtiful Joe 3? For this episode, Sean is joined by writer, DJ, and podcaster Matt "Stormageddon" (@djstormageddon.com) as together they look back on the series, share their favorite VFX-powered moments, and wonder about its future. Questions or comments about this show? Feel free to reach out at soundstonenetwork@gmail.com.For more from Matt, you can listen to their other shows the "Fun" & Games Podcast and Reignite.Our 2000s-inspired theme music is by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/), and our show art is by Andrew Elmore (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone).If you enjoyed this show, please consider following us in your podcast player and leaving a positive review. For any five-star reviews left with names, we will personally thank you on the show.Millennium Edition is a Sound Stone Network original podcast. If you liked this show, we invite you to check out the rest of our lineup:Kirby Conversations: Air riding through over 30 years of Kirby and HAL Laboratory with Sean, Bridge, and WiKirby Editor-in-Chief GigiFlashback 64: the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast with Gooey and McKennaPixels and Polygons: a conversational video game podcast of short interviews from Darren Hupke...and a weekly livestream on video game manuals from Nic McConnell, Instruction DerbyOur YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/@SoundStone-Network.

With the PlayStation 2, Sony experimented with all sorts of ways to bring new connectivity and interactivity to its games. With the iLink port, pressure sensitive controller buttons, and other features and devices many players may not have even known existed, there was no shortage of tech available to enhance your PS2 experience (and maybe even connect 3 PS2s and TVs together for some ultra widescreen Gran Turismo 3). In this episode, rather than focus on one specific game, Darren Hupke is joined by Gooey and Andrew Elmore for a more general question: what was some of the best and strangest tech of the PS2 era, and what games made the most of it? They also share stories about their favorite technologically ambitious PS2 games (including what Darren saw when he snuck his way into E3 as a teenager) and wonder why Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII is so underrated. Questions or comments about this show? Feel free to reach out at soundstonenetwork@gmail.com.Our 2000s-inspired theme music is by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/), and our show art is by Andrew Elmore (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone). You can also follow Andrew on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@MythicResonanceIf you enjoyed this show, please consider following us in your podcast player and leaving a positive review. For any five-star reviews left with names, we will personally thank you on the show.Millennium Edition is a Sound Stone Network original podcast. If you liked this show, we invite you to check out the rest of our lineup:Kirby Conversations: Air riding through over 30 years of Kirby and HAL Laboratory with Sean, Bridget, and WiKirby Editor-in-Chief GigiFlashback 64: the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast with Gooey and McKennaPixels and Polygons: a conversational video game podcast of short interviews from Darren Hupke...and a weekly livestream on video game manuals from Nic McConnell, Instruction DerbyOur YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/@SoundStone-Network.

As temperatures rise, we're heading to the beach with the 2001 GameCube launch title Wave Race: Blue Storm. The third entry in the Wave Race series, there are perhaps few games that show off this console generation's famous water effects quite like Blue Storm, a Jet Ski racing game that is still a fun (and challenging!) ride today. For this episode, we have some familiar Sound Stone faces as Sean talks with Gooey and McKenna of Flashback 64, the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast. Together they discuss the history of Blue Storm, their experiences with the game, and how well it carried the torch for Wave Race into a new era of video games. Questions or comments about this show? Feel free to reach out at soundstonenetwork@gmail.com.Our 2000s-inspired theme music is by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/), and our show art is by Andrew Elmore (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone). If you enjoyed this show, please consider following us in your podcast player and leaving a positive review. For any five-star reviews left with names, we will personally thank you on the show.Millennium Edition is a Sound Stone Network original podcast. If you liked this show, we invite you to check out the rest of our lineup:Kirby Conversations: Air riding through over 30 years of Kirby and HAL Laboratory with Sean, Bridget, and WiKirby Editor-in-Chief GigiFlashback 64: the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast with Gooey and McKennaPixels and Polygons: a conversational video game podcast of short interviews from Darren Hupke...and a weekly livestream on video game manuals from Nic McConnell, Instruction DerbyOur YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/@SoundStone-Network.

Luigi's Mansion was an unconventional launch title to introduce new players to the GameCube. With Luigi in the starring role and playing completely unlike other Mario games, it didn't embrace the broad appeal we'd come to expect from other launch titles like Super Mario World or Super Mario 64. And yet, Luigi's Mansion would go on to become one of the GameCube's highest-selling games, and its expressive characters, lighting, and environmental effects proved to be an amazing graphical showcase for what the new system could do.In this episode, Sean and Gooey revisit Luigi's Mansion, looking back on its development history and considering its place among Nintendo's pantheon of famous launch titles. How does it feel to play 25 years later? Did Nintendo make the right choice to launch the GameCube with such a quirky new Mario game? And how does it perhaps match the unassuming yet creative energy one might associate with the GameCube today? While it may not be remembered with the same fanfare as some Mario titles, both Sean and Gooey had a great time setting off on another ghost hunt, in a game that was key to shaping the Luigi as we know him today.Questions or comments about this show? Feel free to reach out at soundstonenetwork@gmail.com.Our 2000s-inspired theme music is by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/), and our show art is by Andrew Elmore (https://bsky.app/profile/elmore.zone).If you enjoyed this show, please consider following us in your podcast player and leaving a positive review. For any five-star reviews left with names, we will personally thank you on the show.Millennium Edition is a Sound Stone Network original podcast. If you liked this show, we invite you to check out the rest of our lineup:Kirby Conversations: Air riding through over 30 years of Kirby and HAL Laboratory with Sean, Bridget, and WiKirby Editor-in-Chief GigiFlashback 64: the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast with Gooey and McKennaPixels and Polygons: a conversational video game podcast of short interviews from Darren Hupke...and a weekly livestream on video game manuals from Nic McConnell, Instruction DerbyOur YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/@SoundStone-Network.