Skip to main content
PC Gamer PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
  • Hardware
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Video
  • Forum
  • More
    • PC Gaming Show
    • Software
    • Movies & TV
    • Codes
    • Coupons
    • Magazine
    • Newsletter
    • Affiliate links
    • Meet the team
    • Community guidelines
    • About PC Gamer
PC Gamer Magazine Subscription
PC Gamer Magazine Subscription
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming mag
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$32.49
Subscribe now
Popular
  • Battlefield 6
  • Essential Hardware
  • WoW Midnight
  • Silksong
  • Quizzes
Don't miss these
The GameSir G7 Pro gamepad sitting in its charging dock
Controllers Huzzah! Microsoft no longer makes the best PC controller and it's been dethroned by a brand you may not have heard of
MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi and Asus ROG Maximum Z790 Hero gaming motherboards on a green background with a PC Gamer Recommended label
Motherboards Best gaming motherboards in 2025: these are the AMD and Intel mobos I'd build a system around today
Minisforum AtomMan G7 PT mini PC and AtomMan Venus UM790 mini PCs
Gaming PCs Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most
The Corsair Sabre V2 Pro ultralight wireless gaming mouse
Gaming Mice Corsair Sabre V2 Pro Ultralight Wireless gaming mouse review
Two of the best Hall effect keyboards on a blue background with the PC Gamer recommends logo in the top right.
Gaming Keyboards Best Hall effect keyboards in 2025: the fastest, most customizable keyboards for competitive gaming
A logitech G305 Lightspeed and Razer DeathAdder V4 Pro gaming mouse on a green background with a PC Gamer Recommended label on top
Gaming Mice Best wireless gaming mouse in 2025: These are the rodents I love getting my mitts on
The Velocity Micro Raptor ES40 and HP Omen 35L gaming PCs on a blue background with the PC Gamer recommended badge in the top right corner
Gaming PCs Best gaming PCs in 2025: these are the rigs and brands I recommend today
Razer DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed and Logitech G502 X on colourful background
Gaming Mice Best gaming mouse in 2025: I've tested the very best mice and these are my top picks
MSI Vector 16 HX AI and Razer Blade 16 gaming laptops on a blue background with a PC Gamer logo in the foreground
Gaming Laptops Best gaming laptop 2025: I've had my hands on the best laptops for gaming of this generation and these are the ones I recommend
A GameSir Nova Lite and Gamesir G7 Pro pair of controllers against a coloured background with a PC Gamer recommended logo
Controllers Best PC controllers in 2025: the pads I recommend for PC gamers
MSI gaming mice, keyboard, controller and headset
Hardware Cutting-edge gaming with MSI
An 8BitDo controller and gaming keyboard, Logitech gaming mouse, HyperX gaming headset, and NZXT microphone on a pink background
Hardware Best Prime Day peripherals deals: offers on gaming headsets, keyboards, mice, and more
A Corsair Scimitar Elite Wireless SE MMO gaming mouse on a pink background with a PC Gamer Recommended label on top
Gaming Mice It's only been around for five months and already the best multi-button MMO rodent is the best Prime Day gaming mouse deal
A collage of gaming desks from Ikea and Secretlab against a gradient green background, with a PC Gamer Recommended logo in the corner
Gaming Desks Best gaming desk in 2025: my top picks for standing, sitting and everything in between
AMD, Secretlab, Skytech, Zotac products composited on a pink gradient background
Hardware Best October Prime Day Deals Live — The best PC gaming hardware deals still live
  1. Hardware
  2. Gaming Mice

13 Stages In The Evolution of the Mouse

Features
By Maximum PC Staff ( Maximum PC ) published 28 July 2011

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Mice—they’re something we PC enthusiasts tend to take for granted. After all, once you’ve specced out your new rig with a blazing fast processor and a video card the size of a VCR, what’s it really matter what we use to move the pointer around?

They’re easy to forget, because the baseline options we have today are exponentially better than what we had just a decade ago. To refresh your memory, we’ve put together a list of 13 mice that introduced major new features and blew open new markets. Read on for a lesson in the history of the mouse!

First Trackball – 1952

Page 1 of 13
Page 1 of 13

First Mouse – 1963

Page 2 of 13
Page 2 of 13

Xerox Alto I Mouse – 1973

Page 3 of 13
Page 3 of 13

Logitech Mouseman Cordless – 1991

Page 4 of 13
Page 4 of 13

Genius Easyscroll – 1995

Page 5 of 13
Page 5 of 13

Microsoft Intellimouse – 1996

Page 6 of 13
Page 6 of 13

Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer – 1999

Page 7 of 13
Page 7 of 13

Razer Boomslang – 2000

Page 8 of 13
Page 8 of 13

Logitech MX1000 – 2004

Page 9 of 13
Page 9 of 13

SteelSeries World of Warcraft Mouse – 2009

Page 10 of 13
Page 10 of 13

Apple Magic Mouse – 2009

Page 11 of 13
Page 11 of 13

Cyborg R.A.T. – 2010

Page 12 of 13
Page 12 of 13

Razer Mamba 4G – 2011

Page 13 of 13
Page 13 of 13
Maximum PC Staff
Read more
A logitech G305 Lightspeed and Razer DeathAdder V4 Pro gaming mouse on a green background with a PC Gamer Recommended label on top
Best wireless gaming mouse in 2025: These are the rodents I love getting my mitts on
 
 
Razer DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed and Logitech G502 X on colourful background
Best gaming mouse in 2025: I've tested the very best mice and these are my top picks
 
 
The Elecom VM800 wireless gaming mouse lit up in blue, with its glowing blue dongle shown above
The world's first 'true 8K' ultra-wideband gaming mouse is here, complete with a glowing dongle that's supposedly less prone to unwanted interference
 
 
EMR mouse
This mouse has no wires, no battery, and even no optical sensor. Could it be the future of gaming?
 
 
Top and side views of the Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike gaming mouse on a blue background
The Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike brings analogue tech to a gaming mouse for the first time and uses haptic feedback to replicate the feel of a mouse click
 
 
A nightmarish amalgamation of controller and mouse as described by US Patent Application Publication No. 2025/0229172 A1.
I don't think they should make this
 
 
Latest in Gaming Mice
An optical gaming mouse hooked up to a screen recording sound data
Apparently optical gaming mice can spy on what we're saying and video games are an 'ideal target'
 
 
A Corsair Scimitar Elite Wireless SE MMO gaming mouse on a pink background with a PC Gamer Recommended label on top
It's only been around for five months and already the best multi-button MMO rodent is the best Prime Day gaming mouse deal
 
 
The ultralight Corsair Sabre V2 Pro gaming mouse
There's a new king of lightweight gaming mice and I'll 1v1 anyone who disses the ultralight market
 
 
Two Turtle Beach Burst Air II gaming mice on a pink background with the PC Gamer logo in the top right.
Don't forget about this mouse deal over Prime Day: One of the best lightweight wireless gaming mice is still enjoying a whopping $30 discount
 
 
The Corsair Sabre V2 Pro ultralight wireless gaming mouse
Corsair Sabre V2 Pro Ultralight Wireless gaming mouse review
 
 
The Glorious Model O3 Wireless gaming mouse with hot swappable battery
Glorious Model O3 Wireless review
 
 
Latest in Features
OpenAI logo on some cash.
When will the AI bubble burst? As OpenAI signs yet another megabucks deal with Broadcom, can anyone make sense of the trillions of dollars involved?
 
 
Ion Hazzikostas, WoW game director
World of Warcraft director admits it's too hard without combat mods and explains how bosses will change in Midnight: 'We're not looking to turn all our raid encounters into giant puzzles for people to solve'
 
 
A warrior stands with an axe slung over their shoulder in Final Fantasy 14.
Final Fantasy 14's latest patch finally has me excited to log into Dawntrail again—I just wish it didn't take Square Enix 15 months to get here
 
 
Ama looking in a mirror.
Blumhouse's latest horror game Sleep Awake is the first psychological horror I've enjoyed in a hot minute
 
 
a screenshot from Carimara: Beneath the forlorn limbs showing a strange looking man in a tavern
Five new Steam games you probably missed (October 13, 2025)
 
 
Jason and Lucia sitting on a pier, enjoying a beer together in the first Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer.
'Rockstar keeps us on our toes': Will we get another GTA 6 trailer before launch, and if so, what can we expect?
 
 
  1. Don't compromise on power or portability with the best gaming laptops.
    1
    Best gaming laptop 2025: I've had my hands on the best laptops for gaming of this generation and these are the ones I recommend
  2. 2
    Best SSD for gaming in 2025: the fastest and the best value solid state drives to perk up your PC
  3. 3
    Best Hall effect keyboards in 2025: the fastest, most customizable keyboards for competitive gaming
  4. 4
    Best PCIe 5.0 SSD for gaming in 2025: the only Gen 5 drives I will allow in my PC
  5. 5
    Best graphics cards in 2025: I've tested pretty much every AMD and Nvidia GPU of the past 20 years and these are today's top cards
  1. Lofree Flow 2 keyboard on a light blue background
    1
    Lofree Flow 2 mechanical keyboard review
  2. 2
    Razer Wolverine V3 Pro 8K PC controller review
  3. 3
    ASRock X870 Nova WiFi motherboard review
  4. 4
    CloverPit review: This bite-size roguelike traps you in hell with only a slot machine for company
  5. 5
    Absolum review: Finally, a beat 'em up with depth

PC Gamer is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...