 SSX 3 received critical acclaim upon its release. Metacritic calculated an average score of 93 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 version based on 41 reviews, and 92 out of 100 for the Xbox and GameCube versions, both based on 27 reviews. All scores indicate "universal acclaim". It is EA Sports Big's second-highest rated game on Metacritic before the first title in the series, SSX. On aggregate website GameRankings, the game holds 92 % for PS2 and GameCube based on 60 reviews and 38 reviews respectively and 90 % for Xbox based on 41 reviews. Reviewers liked the addition of an open world, the presentation and trick system, while finding issues with the difficulty of the controls and customization options. It won the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Console Action Sports Game of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Licensed Soundtrack awards. Douglass C. Perry of IGN called it the best snowboarding game he had ever played, and GameSpot's Greg Kasavin stated that it "delivers a rush like few racing games or action sports games have ever achieved". SSX 3 was the first game in the SSX series to sell 1 million copies.
