Mickey Mouse Videogames
Seventy-five years ago today, Walt Disney released his first sound cartoon, a cute short called "Steamboat Willie" that also served as a debut for the most famous cartoon character ever created--Mickey Mouse. After "Steamboat Willie", Mickey's popularity grew as he appeared in more shorts, made his feature film debut in "Fantasia", made a successful leap to television via "The Mickey Mouse Club" and "The Wonderful World of Disney", became a presence at Disney theme parks, and even made the leap to cyberspace (thanks to Disney.com and numerous fan sites).
Over the years Mickey has been loved for his cuteness and sweet good-guy persona and reviled for his cuteness and representing a corporation that has grown in dominance and power around the world.
As a child growing up I only watched "The Wonderful World of Disney" whenever they showed Mickey Mouse shorts. (I never really cared for the live-action episodes, to be honest.) I also used to own some Mickey Mouse toys. One toy I remember was the one where Mickey and his pals were on rollerballs and you drove them around a short track that contained a loop so they would do a loop-de-loop. I temporarily grew out of my Mickey fixation because back in the 1970's, Disney only marketed itself to children under 10. Wearing a Mickey Mouse t-shirt or watch in high school would earn you a bunch of ridicule from your classmates. I became enamored of Mickey again when I visited Walt Disney World in Florida for the first time in 1985 and I was totally amazed and thrilled by this place. In fact, I was kind of sad when my trip was over and I had to go back home. I went into kind of a Mickey withdrawal and I began to wish that I could see images of Mickey in my hometown in places other than the toy store.
In an illustration of the old saying "Be careful of what you wish for", the people at Disney changed its marketing strategy by opening Disney Stores nationwide, began creating Mickey clothes aimed at teens and adults, creating expensive limited edition collectibles, and coming out with Christmas ornaments. Then Disney bought ABC and it really got big.
As you're reading this, you're probably wondering what does this have to do with videogames? Well, it has plenty to do with videogames, as a matter of fact. Mickey was absent from the arcade scene during the 1970's and 1980's. Popeye was the first cartoon character who was turned into a videogame and Disney used Tron--not Mickey Mouse--as its first videogame license.
With the rise of the home videogame market, though, Disney has constantly sought to license Mickey for computers and home consoles as much as possible.
Below is a list of the games that Mickey Mouse has appeared in that have been created for the home videogame market in a variety of platforms. (The list covers the games that--as of this writing--have either been released or announced as going to be released in the near future.) While I can't guarantee that this is a complete list, it's still pretty impressive.
AMIGA
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse 2
AMSTRAD CPC
Mickey Mouse
ATARI 400/800
Mickey Mouse in the Great Outdoors
ATARI ST
Mickey Mouse
Mickey's Runaway Zoo
COMMODORE 64
Mickey Mouse
Mickey's Runaway Zoo
Mickey's Space Adventure
GAME BOY
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse 2
Mickey Mouse 3
Mickey Mouse 4
Mickey Mouse 5: Mickey's Magic
Mickey Mouse Magic Wands!
Mickey's Dangerous Chase
Mickey's Racing Adventure
Mickey's Speedway USA
Mickey's Ultimate Challenge
GAME BOY COLOR
Mickey's Racing Adventure
Mickey's Speedway USA
GAME BOY ADVANCE
Disney Sports Basketball
Disney Sports Football
Disney Sports Motorcross
Disney Sports Skateboarding
Disney Sports Snowboarding
Disney Sports Soccer
Disney's Magical Quest Starring Mickey & Minnie
Disney's Magical Quest 2 Starring Mickey & Minnie
Disney's Party
GAME CUBE
Disney Sports Basketball
Disney Sports Football
Disney Sports Skateboarding
Disney Sports Soccer
Disney's Hide and Sneak
Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse
Disney's Party
GAME GEAR
Mickey Mouse: Castle of Illusion
Mickey Mouse: Land of Illusion
Mickey Mouse: Legend of Illusion
Mickey's Ultimate Challenge
GENESIS
Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mania
Mickey Mouse Great Circus Mystery
Mickey's Ultimate Challenge
World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse
NES
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mousecapade
Mickey's Adventures in Numberland
Mickey's Chaos in Number City
Mickey's Dream Balloon
Mickey's Safari in Letterland
NINTENDO 64
Mickey's Speedway USA
PLAYSTATION 1
Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Mix
Mickey's Wild Adventure
My Disney Kitchen
PLAYSTATION 2
Disney Golf
Kingdom Hearts
SEGA CD
Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse
SPECTRUM
Mickey Mouse
SUPER NINTENDO
The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mania: The Timeless Adventures of Mickey Mouse
Mickey's Playtown Adventure: A Day of Discovery
Mickey's Ultimate Challenge
WINDOWS/PC
Disney Trivia Challenge
Mickey's Space Adventure
DISCLAIMER: This blog is based on one person's biased opinions of which videogames should be considered to be classics and why. It is not meant to provide a complete history of the videogame industry, the latest videogame news, technical support, or hints on how to play a certain videogame. None of the videogame manufacturers or programmers mentioned here have endorsed or supported this blog in any way, shape, or form.
NOTE: If there are any errors or updates to what I have written about this entry, please send an e-mail to [link=mailto:kstarkREMOVE-ALL-CAPS-IF-NOT-SPAM@erols.com]kstarkREMOVE-ALL-CAPS-IF-NOT-SPAM@erols.com[/link] (remember to remove the capital letters from my mailing address before sending or else it will get rejected) and I'll edit this piece when time permits.
RELATED LINKS
The Walt Disney Company--The official site of the company that's responsible for Mickey Mouse.
The Walt Disney Family Museum profiles the life of the man who's responsible for Mickey's creation.
Mickey-Mouse.com is a fan site that's devoted to the mouse.
Info-Galaxy: Mickey Mouse is another fan site that's devoted to the mouse.
Mickey Mouse History and a Little About Minnie Mouse--That's one's self-explanatory.
The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts: Mickey Mouse--Provides a complete list of all the animated shorts that Mickey Mouse has appeared in.
Disney Tattoo Guy--This site shows the length that one hard-core Disney fan will go to show his love for Mickey Mouse and his friends. George C. Reiger, Jr. has over 1,000 Disney tattoos on his body, over 15,000 Disney collectible items, and a custom-built 4,000 square foot Disney house.
The Disney Corner--An independent site that's a great place to get all the Disney and Mickey Mouse-related news.
Mouse fresco 'challenges Mickey'--A BBC News story about the 2002 discovery of a 700-year-old fresco in Malta, Austria that resembles Mickey Mouse.
Is Disney Really "Kiddy"?--An interesting discussion on whether Disney really should be synonymous with children's entertainment.m
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