Microshaft Winblows 98
1998 video game
Microshaft Winblows 98 is a 1998 interactive comedy video game for Windows and Classic Mac OS. It parodies the then-upcoming Windows 98 operating system, as well as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Released by Palladium Interactive during the United States v. Microsoft Corp. case and at a time when Microsoft, Windows, and Gates were easy targets for jokes, the game attempted to offer a satirical take on the subject matter.
Developed by Parroty Interactive, the self-professed National Lampoon of the interactive media industry, Microshaft Winblows 98 became the company's fourth interactive comedy video game, after Pyst, a clone of adventure video game Myst, Star Warped, a satire of science-fiction film series Star Wars, and The X-Fools, a spoof of supernatural TV series The X-Files, respectively. Initially released on January 5, 1998, before gaining further exposure through being present at Macworld Expo, Microshaft Winblows 98 was praised by magazines and newspapers, mostly for its clever and blunt humor.
Concept and gameplay
Despite Microsoft being the target of jokes for a considerable period of its then 23-year history, Microshaft Winblows 98 was released at a specific point in time when Microsoft and Bill Gates were in the news for controversial reasons. In particular, Gates was in legal trouble with the Justice Department in terms of the court case United States v. Microsoft Corp surrounding the company's alleged unfair leveraging of its market dominance. The Buffalo News noted that Gates had been embroiled in issues with "competitors, the feds and industry pundits".
“Microshaft Winblows 98” enters the record as 1998 video game. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Microshaft, Winblows and video can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6840069. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1998.
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