Monopoly video games
There have been several video game adaptations of Parker Brothers and Hasbro's board game "Monopoly". History. Early versions. Many unlicensed, non-commercial computer games based on "Monopoly" were distributed on bulletin board systems, public domain software disks and academic computer systems, and appeared as early as the late 1970s. At the time, Parker Brothers was unaware of this distribution until a user informed them of one version that stated "A Parker Brother game" on the title screen; the company then began enforcing its copyright and trademark on "Monopoly". Over the years, "Monopoly" has been released for  different operating systems on the PC and Macintosh platforms. The first of the legally licensed commercial adaptations began in 1985 for the BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC, ZX Spectrum and MSX. Versions have been licensed and produced for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64, GameCube, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Master System, Genesis, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, and Nintendo Switch consoles, as well as mobile device (PDA/Smartphone) versions. The "Monopoly" video games play by the same rules as the standard board game, allowing for single or multiplayer games. When a single  player game is chosen, the game in question would generate computer-controlled opponents. Console and computer versions. "Monopoly" for the PlayStation was developed by Gremlin Interactive, and a Windows and Macintosh version by Westwood Studios. The Windows/Mac version played top down, while the PlayStation version was in 3D. They both had cutscenes in common, played when showing the game pieces moving on their own. In 1998, Hasbro Interactive released a "Monopoly" video game for Microsoft Windows, which used 3D graphics instead of the top-down design used in previous versions. It ran on Windows 95 (although can be run  on up to Windows XP, but will not work on Windows Vista and up) and had a special online play feature which used a modem. A new version developed by Electronic Arts was released in 2008 for the Wii, PlayStation 3, iPhone and Xbox 360, with a slightly stripped-down version for the PlayStation 2. It includes a transatlantic selection of boards, including the new Here & Now edition boards and new game mode, Richest. There are no online features, however. EA's "Monopoly" game scored fairly poorly, with a 54% average on the PS3 on Metacritic, and 56% on the  Xbox 360. The Wii version fared better with 70%. The "Official Nintendo Magazine" in the UK were most positive in their evaluation of the Wii version, which they called "great fun" in the Christmas 2008 issue. Eurogamer was less enthusiastic, saying: "For the price of "Monopoly" for Wii, you could buy real "Monopoly". Twice. Or you could just buy no "Monopoly" at all and spend the money on something more likely to inspire amity and harmony, like a book by Hitler." The "Monopoly Family Fun Pack", produced by Ubisoft for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, was released on November 18 , 2014. It is an on-disc bundle consisting of the digitally-released "Monopoly Plus" and "Monopoly Deal", as well as "Monopoly Plus"<nowiki>'s</nowiki> My Monopoly expansion. In 2017, Ubisoft released a more traditional "Monopoly" video game on the Nintendo Switch, based on "Monopoly Plus". This game takes advantage of the Joy-Con's "HD Rumble" feature. In 2020, the Stadia version of the game, based on "Monopoly Plus", was released. Other versions. An official version, "Safe As Houses" was released for the Atari ST. An electronic handheld version of the game was marketed from 1997–2001. For several months in 2009 , Google Maps hosted an online version of "Monopoly", "Monopoly City Streets", using its maps as the board.