Skip to main content
PC Gamer PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES
UK EditionUK US EditionUS CA EditionCanada AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Black Friday
  • 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
Don't miss these
Asus ROG Strix Scope II 96 Wireless and Keychron Q3 Max on grey background
Gaming Keyboards Best gaming keyboards in 2025: the fastest, smoothest and loveliest boards I've tested
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
Two of the best PC joysticks, the Thrustmaster Warthog flight stick alongside a Logitech G X56 HOTAS, on a two-tone grey background
Controllers Best PC joysticks in 2025: These are my top picks for everything from flight sims to space shooters
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 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
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
The best wireless gaming keyboards
Gaming Keyboards Best wireless gaming keyboard in 2025: my top picks for cable-free typing delights
Two hands hold a prototype of the smooth, wireless Melt Mouse aloft on a white background.
Gaming Mice The Melt Mouse isn't some Dali-esque nightmare, but rather a touchpad and haptic-equipped squeaker with serious Apple vibes
A foldable myAir.0 OriMouse on a desk in titanium grey
Gaming Mice The foldable OriMouse is a mere 5 mm thick and weighs just 38 g but the photos give me a serious case of the heebie-jeebies
EMR mouse
Gaming Mice This mouse has no wires, no battery, and even no optical sensor. Could it be the future of gaming?
The Elecom VM800 wireless gaming mouse lit up in blue, with its glowing blue dongle shown above
Gaming Mice 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
Top and side views of the Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike gaming mouse on a blue background
Gaming Mice 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 Corsair Scimitar Elite Wireless SE gaming mouse on a carpet next to a gaming laptop and Stream Deck.
Gaming Mice Multi-button gaming mice aren't just for MMOs as Corsair's latest rodent shows, knocking Razer off its historic perch as best MMO gaming mouse
image from Dycus' camera (which was made from an optical mouse
Hardware One techie has built a camera out of an old Logitech gaming mouse, and it's inspired by the Game Boy Camera
Popular
  • New Valve hardware
  • Best PC gear
  • Arc Raiders
  • PC Gaming Show
  • Quizzes
  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
Two hands hold a prototype of the smooth, wireless Melt Mouse aloft on a white background.
The Melt Mouse isn't some Dali-esque nightmare, but rather a touchpad and haptic-equipped squeaker with serious Apple vibes
 
 
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
 
 
A foldable myAir.0 OriMouse on a desk in titanium grey
The foldable OriMouse is a mere 5 mm thick and weighs just 38 g but the photos give me a serious case of the heebie-jeebies
 
 
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
 
 
EMR mouse
This mouse has no wires, no battery, and even no optical sensor. Could it be the future of gaming?
 
 
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
 
 
Latest in Gaming Mice
Orbital Pathfinder gaming mouse with various attachments.
Super-fast gaming mice that weigh less than a feather are all well and good, but what the market really needs are more options for fit and feel, just like the Orbital Pathfinder
 
 
Orbital Pathfinder gaming mouse with various attachments.
Orbital Pathfinder Gaming Mouse Review
 
 
A Turtle Beach Burst II Air gaming mouse on a custom Black Friday background
I've tested heaps of gaming mice and while this isn't the lightest, it's one of the best value with $35 off
 
 
The Logitech MX Master 4 productivity mouse on a wooden desk
Logitech MX Master 4 mouse review
 
 
The Corsair Sabre V2 Pro ultralight wireless gaming mouse
If you're still on the fence like I was, take the plunge and try a lightweight wireless gaming mouse because they're seriously fantastic
 
 
Two hands hold a prototype of the smooth, wireless Melt Mouse aloft on a white background.
The Melt Mouse isn't some Dali-esque nightmare, but rather a touchpad and haptic-equipped squeaker with serious Apple vibes
 
 
Latest in Features
A Rust naked running on a beach holding a rock. He's only wearing boxers and seems to be fleeing someone shooting at him.
Rust's 'Pivot or Die' update was meant to shake up the meta, but it's a nightmare for solo survivors that leaves me no choice but to die
 
 
Project Misriah Halo 3 Counter-Strike 2 map collection
Counter-Strike 2 modders surprise drop an excellent Halo 3 multiplayer pack, accidentally proving how badly Valve has squandered Source 2
 
 
Arc Raiders Stella Montis - Facility
Stella Montis condenses everything I love about Arc Raiders by cramming it all into a cramped facility of pure chaos
 
 
News Tower key art with a paperboy and a photographer
I might just play more News Tower instead of going to therapy
 
 
Ultima Online key art.
The '80s and '90s PC games unbelievably still being updated today
 
 
Half-Life: Alyx
OK, for real though, what's the chance of a Half-Life 3 announcement happening soon? Here's what we know
 
 
  1. Two of the best PC cases with the PC Gamer Recommended badge in the top right.
    1
    The best fish tank PC case in 2025: I've tested heaps of stylish chassis but only a few have earned my recommendation
  2. 2
    Best gaming laptop 2025: I've tested the best laptops for gaming of this generation and here are the ones I recommend
  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. Thermaltake View 390 Air chassis on a desk. We're building a PC into it for testing and comparison with other PC cases.
    1
    Thermaltake View 390 Air review
  2. 2
    Demonschool review
  3. 3
    HyperX Cloud Alpha 2 Wireless review
  4. 4
    Turtle Beach Vulcan II TKL review
  5. 5
    Razer Blackwidow V4 Low-Profile Tenkeyless Hyperspeed review

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

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • 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...