There have been numerous ''Monopoly''

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s based on the core game mechanics of

Parker Brothers Parker Brothers (known by Parker outside of North America) was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand of Hasbro. More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883. Among its products wer ...

and Hasbro's board game ''

Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

''. They have been developed by numerous teams and released on multiple platforms over 35+ years.

List

* ''

'' (1985) by Leisure Genius, multi-platform * ''

'' (1988) by Nexa Corporation for Sega Master System * ''

'' (1991) by Sculptured Software for Game Boy, SNES, Genesis, and NES * ''Monopoly Deluxe'' (1992) by

Virgin Games Virgin Interactive Entertainment (later renamed Avalon Interactive) was the video game publishing division of British conglomerate the Virgin Group. It developed and published games for major platforms and employed developers, including Westwoo ...

for DOS and Windows * ''Monopoly'' (1993) for Super Famicom in Japan by Ape and Creamsoft * MacPlay Monopoly (1993) by HumanWave Technology for Macintosh * ''

'' (1995) by

Westwood Studios Westwood Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in 1985 as Brelous Software, but got changed after 2 months into Westwood Associates and was renamed to Westw ...

for Macintosh and Windows * ''

The Monopoly Game 2 is a 1995 video game for the Super Famicom, developed by Tomcat System, and jointly published by Tomy and Ape. It was not released outside of Japan. This game is the sequel to a 1993 Super Famicom game called ''Monopoly'', which was published by ...

'' (1995, Japan) by Tomcat System for Super Famicom * ''

'' (1997) by

Gremlin Interactive Gremlin Graphics Software Limited, later Gremlin Interactive Limited and ultimately Infogrames Studios Limited was a British software house based in Sheffield, working mostly in the home computer market. Like many software houses established in ...

for PlayStation * '' Monopoly Star Wars'' (1997) by

Artech Digital Entertainment Artech Digital Entertainment, Ltd. (stylized as ARTECH studios) was a video game developer formed in 1982 in Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Also known as Artech Studios, the company developed games such as ''Raze's Hell'', ''Monopoly (2000 vid ...

for Windows * ''Monopoly World Cup France 98 Edition'' (1998) by Hasbro Interactive for Windows * ''

'' (1999) by Mind's Eye Productions for Nintendo 64 * ''

'' (2000) by Artech Studios for Macintosh, Windows and PlayStation Portable * '' Monopoly Tycoon'' (2001) by Deep Red Games for Windows and mobiles * ''EX Monopoly'' (2001) by Mobile 21 for Game Boy Advance * ''Monopoly Party'' (2002) by Runecraft for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube * ''Monopoly SpongeBob SquarePants Edition'' (2007) by Navarre Corporation for Windows * ''Monopoly'' (2008) by

Encore, Inc. Encore Software, LLC ("Encore") is a Delaware limited liability company focused on software sales, distribution and software development. In November 2008, Encore announced an expanded license with Riverdeep. Under the terms of the agreement Encor ...

for Windows * ''

Monopoly Here and Now ''Monopoly'' is a multi-player economics-themed board game. In the game, players roll two dice to move around the game board, buying and trading properties and developing them with houses and hotels. Players collect rent from their opponents, a ...

'' (2009) by EA Mobile for iOS * ''Monopoly: Build-a-lot Edition'' (2009) by HipSoft for PC * ''

Monopoly Streets ''Monopoly Streets'' is a video game based on the board game of the same name, and one of many in the Monopoly video game series. Developed by EA Salt Lake and published by Electronic Arts, the game was released on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, a ...

'' (2010) by

EA Salt Lake EA Salt Lake was an American video game developer located in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was owned by video game publisher Electronic Arts (EA). History EA Salt Lake was founded by the studio's president, Vance Cook, as Headgate Stud ...

for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii * ''

'' (2010) for Nintendo DS * ''Monopoly'' (2012) by

PopCap Games PopCap Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Seattle, and a subsidiary of Electronic Arts. The company was founded in 2000 by John Vechey, Brian Fiete and Jason Kapalka. Originally founded under the name "Sexy Action Cool", ...

for Windows and Macintosh * Monopoly Deal (2014) by

Asobo Studio Asobo Studio SAS is a French video game developer based in Bordeaux and founded in 2002. The studio is most known for developing video game adaptations of several Pixar movies, '' A Plague Tale: Innocence'', and the 2020 version of '' Microsoft&n ...

for PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. * ''Monopoly Plus'' (2014) by

for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, and Xbox One **''Monopoly for Nintendo Switch'' (2017) ported by Engine Software ** ''Monopoly'' (2020) for Stadia ported by Engine Software * ''Monopoly'' (2019) for iOS and Android devices, by Marmalade Game Studio * ''Monopoly Poker'' (2020) by Azerion for iOS, Android and PC * ''Monopoly Madness'' (2021) for Google Stadia, Luna, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S ported by Engine Software

History

Early versions

Many unlicensed, non-commercial computer games based on ''Monopoly'' were distributed on

bulletin board system A bulletin board system (BBS), also called computer bulletin board service (CBBS), is a computer server running software that allows users to connect to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, the user can perform functions such as ...

public domain software Public-domain software is software that has been placed in the public domain, in other words, software for which there is absolutely no ownership such as copyright, trademark, or patent. Software in the public domain can be modified, distributed, ...

disks and academic computer systems, and appeared as early as the late 1970s. At the time,

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 The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

and

MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by Microsoft and ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, then vice-p ...

. Versions have been licensed and produced for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

, Super NES,

Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same ...

, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64,

GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

Master System The is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of consoles, which was released in Japan in 1985 and ...

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

, and

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

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 A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

in question would generate computer-controlled opponents.

Console and computer versions

''Monopoly'' for the PlayStation was developed by

, and a Windows and Macintosh version by

. 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 Windows 95 is a consumer-oriented operating system developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows 9x family of operating systems. The first operating system in the 9x family, it is the successor to Windows 3.1x, and was released to manufacturin ...

(although can be run on up to

Windows XP Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...

, but will not work on

Windows Vista Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of ...

and up) and had a special online play feature which used a

modem A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by Modulation#Digital modulati ...

. A new version developed by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...

was released in 2008 for the

, iPhone and

, with a slightly stripped-down version for the

. 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 Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, 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 ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...

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 Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...

." The ''Monopoly Family Fun Pack'', produced by

Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...

for

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

, 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'''s My Monopoly expansion. In 2017, Ubisoft released a more traditional ''Monopoly'' video game on the

, based on ''Monopoly Plus''. This game takes advantage of the Joy-Con's "HD Rumble" feature. In 2020, the

Stadia Stadia may refer to: * One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums" * The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes''). * Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey * Stadi ...

version of the game, based on ''Monopoly Plus'', was released.

Other versions

An official version, ''Safe As Houses'' was released for the

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

. An electronic handheld version of the game was marketed from 1997–2001. For several months in 2009,

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...

hosted an online version of ''Monopoly'', ''Monopoly City Streets'', using its maps as the board.

References

External links

* {{Monopoly Monopoly (game) Amstrad CPC games BBC Micro and Acorn Electron games BlackBerry games Commodore 64 games Game Boy games Game Boy Advance games Electronic Arts franchises Ubisoft franchises IOS games Nintendo 64 games Nintendo Entertainment System games Master System games Sega Genesis games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games PlayStation (console) games PlayStation 2 games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation Network games PlayStation Portable games Tomy games Xbox 360 games Wii games Windows games Video games with isometric graphics Video games based on Hasbro toys ZX Spectrum games Windows Phone games Video game franchises introduced in 1985 Video games based on board games