Sneakers (2002 video game)

Sneakers
North American Xbox cover art
Developer(s)Media.Vision
Publisher(s)Microsoft Game Studios
Platform(s)Xbox
Release
  • JP: February 22, 2002
  • NA: October 22, 2002
Genre(s)Action, Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Sneakers, released in Japan as Nezmix: Have A Mice Day! (Japanese: ねずみくす, Hepburn: Nezumikusu), is a video game developed by Media.Vision and published by Microsoft Game Studios exclusively for the Xbox in 2002. Sneakers is an action-puzzle game in which the player leads a group of mice to explore a house and its surroundings to detect enemy rats and protect their group in beat 'em up fights. Marketed as making use of 'fur shading' graphics, the design of the mice in Sneakers was intended to showcase the technical capabilities of the Xbox. The game was developed as one of two Japan-exclusive launch titles for the Xbox, and was later released in North America in an exclusive distribution with Toys R Us retail stores. Upon release in Japan, Nezmix sold poorly, with critics attributing the release to contributing to the poor launch of the console in the country. The North American version of Sneakers received generally unfavorable reviews, with criticism directed at the game's linear and repetitive gameplay.