Page 22 - Old School Gamer Magazine Issue #41 FREE Edition

supported 18 titles such as DOOM, NBA Jam Tournament Edition, Super Mario Kart, and a handful of titles exclusive to Japan. With
a data transfer rate of 2,400 bps over phone lines, the XBAND operated considerably slower
than most PC modems, but was still mostly sufficient for two- player games. XBAND users would choose from a set of preset profile icons along with a unique user name. Players could be matched randomly with other players of the same game or could choose from an existing friends list.
XBAND units could be rented from affiliate video rental stores like Blockbuster Video or purchased outright. Monthly access fees
applied, as well as per-connection costs and per-hour costs. These fees mounted quickly and
the XBAND quickly earned a reputation as a pricey commodity. Even so, the XBAND apparently never earned a significant profit, which accounts for its relatively short lifespan. Despite being later expanded to service Japanese Sega Saturn models and PCs, the XBAND was discontinued in 1997.
CONNECTING...
Today’s consoles enjoy connectivity speeds of 25 Mbps or more. We can download gigabytes of game data in mere minutes
- or less. Players can engage in massive multiplayer online games with dozens or hundreds of other players simultaneously within the same gaming environment. Yet, services like the PlayCable and XBAND proverbially crawled so that current-gen consoles could run.
With internet technology and infrastructures constantly improving and expanding, it’s thrilling to consider where and with whom we’ll connect next.
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OLD SCHOOL GAMER MAGAZINE • ISSUE #41