Socks the Cat Rocks the Hill

By Nathan Eveland

Yes, there was going to be a game about Socks, the White House cat. And yes, that's Bill Clinton on the cover.

With video games becoming more and more mainstream in recent years, it's no question that they have had an undeniable influence on culture - and that culture has had an undeniable influence on them. And what better way to define the culture of the '90s than with a political-natured one? And no, I'm not talking about the latest entry in the Wolfenstein series that happens to feature political themes. I'm talking about a game that features a certain ex-President's cat.

Bill Clinton was the 42nd man to rule the United States, but none before him ever spawned as many jokes and satiric political innuendo than this saxophone-totin' President. And none before him ever had a cat that was going to star in a video game.

Socks the Cat Rocks the Hill. Let me repeat myself: Socks the Cat Rocks the Hill. Look at the box art and repeat that over again. Ridiculous, isn't it? Not ridiculous enough that this game was complete and ready to be produced and shipped to retailers before it was canned following the closing of Kaneko USA.

The Presidential Socks Partnership, Inc., located in Arlington, Virginia, licensed Socks in all his feline glory to Kaneko, an ill-fated company known for its production of poor-quality titles such as Chester Cheetah: Too Cool to Fool and DJ Boy.

1993 was well before the whole Monica Lewinsky scandal, and Bill Clinton was quite popular with the American people. Additionally, Socks was well-liked throughout the populace. Why not do a game based on the lovable kitty?

Socks the Cat Rocks the Hill, as I said before, was complete. All that remained was for Kaneko to manufacture copies of the game and ship them to retailers. However, Nintendo may have had a hand in its demise. Nintendo's infamous censorship policies included those against including "subliminal political messages" or "overt political statements" - I would say it's a pretty overt political statement when the game's bosses were made out to be caricatures of famous Republican leaders such as Richard Nixon and George Bush, Sr. (Source: http://www.filibustercartoons.com/Nintendo.php) That, coupled with the fact that Kaneko USA was shutting down, shut Socks the Cat down as well.

I do admit it would have been rather interesting to have the chance to play this game, but no known copies exist, and no known ROMs have been dumped onto the Internet. Looks like this is one game we'll never know too much about.

I have gathered some details based on an advertisement from an old Nintendo Power and the text from the back of the game's box.

This advertisement, featured in Nintendo Power, June 1993, Volume 61, reads:

"Call it 'capital punishment,' but Socks the Cat, the nation's first feline, is at play on Capital Hill. Suddenly, 'political party' takes on a new meaning in these two new humorous games for Genesis and SNES. 'Socks Rocks the Hill', is a madcap adventure to save the world from nuclear annihilation."

(Note: It seems the ad is implying that there are two new games, meaning that Socks the Cat has two titles, but I guess the ad just thought that two new games meant one new game on two systems, being Nintendo's SNES and Sega's Genesis.)

"Socks, the White House cat, discovers the missing portable nuclear launch unit in his favorite napping spot, the basement of a foreign embassy. To avoid mass destruction, he must return to the White House and alert the first family. But, a foreign spy ring has their own political agenda. They want to see Socks run, and not for political office!"

"The chase begins. Socks must overcome the likes of foreign spies, Enemy Animal Agents, politicians, secret service agents and the ever-present media corp. To keep the party alive, Socks pounces, tumbles, and negotiates his way out of the intricate secret passages and puzzles of Washington. This cat is in a ring of trouble, but not over the hill yet! 'Socks Rocks the Hill' is a one or two player 8 MEG game for Genesis and SNES. Comedic action, scrolling graphics and playful movement make this game a platform to run on, and on and on. Rock on with Kaneko USA's 'Socks Rocks the Hill.' Available nationwide this fall!"

So you're a cat, no, not just any cat... Socks... with your sunglasses and "bad boy" attitude (clearly shown by the menacing, "what-you-lookin'-at?" grin seen on the box cover), saving the world from a nuclear holocaust and avoiding dangerous foes such as politicians and the media? Heck, I've seen crazier plots. And at least you're saving something more than just a certain selfish Princess. Ahem.

The back cover of the game box doesn't offer much new information. In fact, it simply repeats what the ad says in certain instances. But for all you hard-core Socks fans out there (and I'm sure there are many of you), I've reproduced the back cover here.

It's hard to make out, but here's what I've gathered:

"While Socks, the White House cat, sleeps peacefully in a bag that contains a portable missile launch Unit (his favorite napping spot), foreign spies steal the bag! He quickly realizes that he must return to the White House and alert the first family in order to avoid mass destruction. But, the spy ring has their own political agenda. They want to see Socks run - and not for political office!"

"The chase begins. Socks must overcome the likes of foreign spies, enemy animal agents, politicians, secret service agents, and the ever-present media corps. To keep the party alive, Socks pounces, tumbles, and negotiates his way out of the intricate secret passages and puzzles of Washington."

There aren't very many details on the game besides the plot. With the advertisement, we know that it's a platform game (and you can tell by the side-scrolling screenshots, if you can make them out), and we also know that it features both one and two-player modes (I'm guessing alternating play for the latter, but I don't know for sure). I'm guessing the controls were basic, using standard fare such as utilizing the d-pad for movement, B for jumping, menu selection, etc. without anything too fancy. And maybe it could be have been.

It could have been a fun game, really. Putting the silly plot aside, perhaps it would have given some of the other third-party platformers such as Bubsy a run for their money? Regardless of whether the game was good or not, it never got its chance to prove itself. Oh well. I have the feeling that the only thing we missed out on was a good laugh, but we're getting that now, aren't we?

That's a wrap, gamers. Looks like you'll have to get your virtual Bill Clinton fix in NBA Jam.

-------------

Information Courtesy of Jonny:

I asked Ann MacDonald who worked on the game why Socks the cat for snes was never released and got the following response:

The game was never released. Kaneko Japan chose not to produce it when Kaneko U.S. was closed. The game did clear Nintendo and was complete. No know copies exist.

Scans

• Socks The Cat ad (large)

Bibliography

• Nintendo Power, Pak Watch - Summer CES, Publication date: August 1993, Volume: 51, Pages: 113