Nintendo 64 classic 1080° Snowboarding may be making a return, if a recent Nintendo trademark filing is any indicator. The snowboarding title was first released back in 1998, and immediately became a must-have game for Nintendo fans, offering up some of the most exciting snowboarding-based action that gamers had seen up to that point.

However, unlike some video game franchises that never die, it seemed as though Nintendo was happy to let 1080° Snowboarding fade away. The title had a Gamecube sequel in 2003, called 1080° Avalanche, but aside from rereleases of the first game on the Virtual Console the franchise has been left in the dust by Nintendo, seemingly forgotten apart from the occasional Super Smash Bros. cameo.

Related: 16 Times Super Mario Crossed Over With Other Video Games

However, Nintendo may be planning to do something new with the property. The company has filed a trademark on 1080° TenEighty, therefore renewing the trademark on the franchise as a whole. The trademark was filed on 18 December 2017, and it certainly suggests that Nintendo does have something in store that uses the 1080° Snowboarding name.

Fans of the franchise and of snowboarding games in general will likely be hoping that a brand new 1080° Snowboarding game is going to enter development, and such a title would certainly jump to many a gamers' list of most anticipated video games. That's certainly within the realms of possibility, particularly given the lack of real competition in the market at the moment; former rivals SSX and Cool Boarders have not seen releases in some time, while Ubisoft's Steep hardly set the world alight when it released at the tail end of 2016. Indeed, with Steep set to see a Nintendo Switch port, it could act as a good trial for Nintendo to see if Switch users are interested in snowboarding games.

As well as the potential for a new game, there are also some other options. In particular, it could be likely that 1080° Snowboarding is gearing up for another Virtual Console release. The game hit both the Wii and the Wii U virtual storefronts, and given the popularity of the game as a whole it would certainly make sense for Nintendo to continue this trend and bring the original game to the Switch.

Another option regarding why Nintendo renewed the trademark revolves around the much-rumored Nintendo 64 Classic. If a retro console based on the N64 was to see release, then 1080° Snowboarding would be one of the must-have games on the system. For now, though, fans will have to wait and see what Nintendo is planning with the series.

More: 25 Games We NEED On The Nintendo 64 Classic

Source: Pixelpar (via My Nintendo News)