
Back in March we reported on the news that a working ROM of the unreleased SNES title Socks The Cat Rocks The Hill had been found by Tom Curtin, and that he hoped to publish the game with the help of crowdfunding.
The notion of resurrecting a game that is over two decades old and stars the (now deceased) moggie of a former US President might sound ridiculous, but Curtin wasn't bluffing. Socks The Cat has now arrived on Kickstarter with a funding goal of $30,000. If it reaches that figure then this almost-lost piece of gaming history will actually get a physical release on the SNES.
The game is being produced by Second Dimension and is expected to ship in July next year. According to the Kickstarter page, the title is complete and now entirely free from bugs thanks to the efforts of the Second Dimension team.
Here's the backstory, taken from the page:
Socks the Cat is the most anticipated unreleased video game of all-time. Ever. For any platform. Don't believe me? Grab some popcorn and "Google" it.
The premise was wacky yet simple. You play as Socks the Cat, or Socks as we affectionately call him. The ultimate pet of the 90's. The White House cat. The "First Pet" of the Clinton administration. Your mission? To fight your way through the White House battling all sort of enemies, including spies, Dobermans, protestors and satirical versions of famous political figures as end bosses. The game was set to be released on the ever popular, Super Nintendo Entertainment System or SNES in the early 90's.
The game was well received by some, disliked by others, but all agreed it was a great theme with excellent end bosses. Several publications reviewed the game but when the publisher closed its doors, Socks went missing. For years. And years. And years.
20+ years later some retro gamers and enthusiasts wondered what happened to Socks and started asking questions. There were some disagreements. The developer said it was complete while former employees of the publisher whole-heartedly disagreed, saying the game was nowhere near completion.
Then in 2011 things got really interesting. A private collector allowed a friend to shoot some video footage and upload it to YouTube of what appeared to be the Socks the Cat video game. Instant vitriol would follow. While some were happy there was finally proof of the existence of the long lost game, others were upset that the collector would not release the game for others to enjoy. One thing was clear, the 20 years of speculation were over. Socks did exist. This created even more questions.
Was it complete? Did it play well? What was the plan for it? Well those answers would start to be answered in 2012 when another collector, Tom Curtin, purchased the only known copy of Socks. His plans were simple, he wanted to release the game. He has since teamed up with retro video game publisher, Second Dimension. Finally, hope.
Curtin would acquire the rights to Socks the Cat a couple of years later and pursue the release. He hired a dream team of retro game experts. A publisher, a programmer, an artist, and two experts in releasing previously unreleased games. They would work together to bring Socks the Cat, the most anticipated unreleased game of all-time to reality.
Will you be backing this project? Let us know by posting a comment.
[source kickstarter.com]
Comments 46
I have a cat called Socks.
Wow a new snes game in 2017!
Unless they include the highly anticipated Monica Lewinsky mission DLC I will refuse to back this
Why ?
So the SNES will receive as much support in 2017 as the Wii U...
Clinton was a cool dude. Too bad his impeachment... er, sucked.
Now with the obligatory obvious joke out of the way, I find it weird that a game about a presidential pet even exists in the first place, but I hear there are good bosses in it, so why not?
Bubba oughta be proud of this!
Why do politics have to be part of this game. It would be great if it's just a cat of a fictional president, but one that is based on a real president (of one in my opinion who is extremely corrupt and dishonest) just kills it. Besides, I thought people play games to escape issues of real world, if the creator would just based the cat on something else and not Clinton I would be all for it.
Is this article locker room talk?
Time to make like a kitten and snooze.
It's always those narcissistic "private collectors" who get in the way of preserving history. Can't count how many times I've heard of them withhold rare stuff from the world. Just ugh, utterly infuriating. Very glad it went on to a more sympathetic collector. It's getting out, so fantastic!
I wonder if he has information that would lead to Hilary's arrest.
Time to grab some...
XD
Cats ?
It would have been nice if they'd bothered to put up a video or some screenshots.
...Until Socks the Cat had a lascivious liaisons with Fleece the Feline. [Insert Monica Lewinski joke here].
I'm not sure how good this game will be if released. A lot of unreleased SNES games were pants from a gameplay perspective.
I was all about supporting this if I got the ROM for $5 or so, but $20? No thanks.
I did not have feline relations with that tabby.
I'd back it if there was screenshot proof
@ottospooky I'm ,not too excited about that DLC, I heard it blows.
Final boss...Newt or Trent, Newt or Trent...
Duh. Ken Starr.
Rip 'im a new one, Socks.
Donald Trump as Final Boss or riot
Lol...talk about nine lives..
..if this was a Rare game I'd back it,
Socks' Bad Fur Day ..SOLD!
@AlexSora89
Bill was cool on the outside. He wasn't as bad as his successor, but he was still awful. Clinton has commit many crimes and scandals over the years that I won't get into as this is a video gaming site, but it is rather common knowledge.
Do you even politics, bro?
Do you?
@BionicDodo ...as the Wii U gets LoZ: BoW. I fail to see your point.
@SebCroc Actually, a lot of them are preserved; most collectors privately dump them, and they usually end up getting public releases anyway - which then get illegal reproductions :/
@iGen

I do politics. Here's all everyone needs to know about Clinton.
Did you guys expect a sex joke? Pfffffft.
@AlexSora89
And? Your point is? All I see is a completely pointless frenetic cartoon GIF that makes no sense whatsoever. Nor does it prove any point. At all.
You've made it very clear that you do not do politics.
@iGen The only thing you proved is that you are a right wing nutjob. I'm going to enjoy watching your party going down in flames on November 8.
@Cronenberg
0:04
And I'm going to enjoy watching yours crumble to the ground next month, mac. It will be very satisfying.
@iGen
Wait, you did not notice I was... joking...?
Oh, crud.
@AlexSora89
Damn...
I apologize, I'm terrible at detecting jokes. I do not come from a very lighthearted world.
Conversation closed.
@AlexSora89 WOAH! I almost forgot how much of a sax predator Clinton was!
@iGen That was a GIF from Animaniacs, a 1990s cartoon that lampooned pretty much everyone.
@Cronenberg I'm pretty sure both sides are going down in a ring of fire. It's going to be quite an infernal barbeque to spectate.
@Ashthearcher You'd be surprised what cats are able to learn. They have secret ninja networks spying on human activity all the time. They're also integrally important to human history. The last time humans tried to defy catkind, most of Europe got offed by the bubonic plague. Cat karma is a... well... I'll have to think of an appropriate feline friendly term.
@PlywoodStick
Multipost much?
May want to merge them before an admin tells you to.
@iGen I just did that because I didn't want load anyone's emails with a cluttered group of responses, just in case. Should be fine to edit together now, though.
And hey, I don't think that. Most people would tell me I'M the nutjob for not taking a side!
@PlywoodStick
I never suggested you were. You're a very respectable person here, and I think many people appreciate your presence.
Then again, though, maybe the third debate will make up your mind. Apparently it's going to dictate Ken's side, so, you not alone.
PS: Cat karma's a snitch.
Didn't NL report on this game about a year and a half ago? I could've sworn I saw something on here mentioning it and saying it was on Kickstarter back then? Maybe it was Did You Know Gameing?🤔
Anyone think we will be receiving a Wii U game 20+ years from now?
@Fiyaball Ah, so the ones I was talking about are the exception. Fair enough. About "illegal" releases though, not really bothered about that at all. If you can't get it anywhere nobody cares or should care.
@Cronenberg
And you just proved how little you know.
You do realize that independents exist, right? Calling someone "a right wing nutjob" just because they oppose corrupt members of the "Democratic"* establishment does not necessarily mean that the person is a conservative.
Before the Wikileaks releases (and more importantly, the establishment's response to them), I used to blindly support and defend the Democrats. I now see just how foolish I was in doing so.
Both of the major parties are crumbling spectacularly, not just one or the other. Conversely, support for third parties is enjoying a good boost, and more people than ever are identifying as independents.
Fun fact:
That Hillary 11 point lead poll reported on after the debate is complete and utter BS. You should read up, and never make the mistake of overestimating the reliability of what you see in the mainstream media.
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2016/10/11/media-polling-fully-exposed-about-that-nbcwsj-clinton-11-point-poll/
If you want to vote for someone who genuinely cares about everyday people, you should do what I did by becoming a proud supporter of the Green Party nominee Dr. Jill Stein.
I apologize for going a bit offtopic, but something desperately needed to be said, especially for those who rely solely on mainstream media for their news.
@IpwnedU123 You call yourself "independent", yet you source something called the conservative treehouse? What a joke. Is it run by edgy 13 year olds?
@Cronenberg
I am an independent, thus, despite having liberal views on most issues, I will still acknowledge when others with different views make good points backed up with reliable sources.
My ideology is that if people would just stop bickering about their differences and instead work toward their shared interests, then we would be able to make a strong, positive impact for our world.
The real joke is your black and white view of our gray world. 😂
You remind me of the GBATemp user Lacius.
For much more on my views, please read my posts here (as I pwned U!):
https://gbatemp.net/threads/poll-u-s-presidential-election-2016.430411/
And here:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/poll-who-are-would-you-vote-for-united-states-president.439239/
And on my Twitter feed:
https://twitter.com/IpwnedU123
By the sounds of it, Bill Clinton learnt his mating techniques from watching male cats court the females
Well, it seems Clinton did enjoy a nice spot of petting.
needs a VC release.
@IpwnedU123 Mods might go after those gbatemp links...
Nice to see another person who learned from the story of Jack and Jill, to know not to climb the Hill...
@PlywoodStick Thank you for the support, and that perfect analogy!
(As for the GBATemp links, the NintendoLife staff have posted some in articles before, and the GBATemp mods enforce the same types of reasonable rules as NintendoLife, so it should be fine.)
@Cronenberg
Your tears are delicious. Amazingly so.
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