A quick history of online gaming in the United States market

[Zadoc]

The timeline, history and facts of online console gaming.

January, 1982 - A man of little fame but of much significance in American pop-culture named William “Bill” von Meister was at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas Nevada. For years, all new software, hardware and other innovations in the game industry were first revealed to the world at CES, long before the industry was truly global, long before E3.

Bill von Meister, President of Control Video Corp., better known as CVC, was at the CES to display his companies’ new product and service, the GameLine Master Module. The Master Module was a 1200 baud modem for the Atari 2600 which allowed users to download dozens of 2600 games from CVC’s centralized computer via a service called GameLine.

In June 1983 GameLine made its world debut. The GameLine Master Module was packaged with the following:

The Master Module itself, a long telephone cord, a subscription to a GameLine magazine called GameLiner (only two issues were released), a rule summary binder containing the rules to every game which could be downloaded called the Master File.

Gamers would pay $49.95 for a one year subscription to the online service and would dial into the GameLine library and enter in a three digit code found in the rule binder (or magazine) to download any of the dozens of games available on the service for a small fee, which could be paid for via credit card. Once a player downloaded the game, it could be played up to eight times or until the 2600 system was powered off.

GameLine was short lived for two reasons. First of all, it was released only months before the great crash of 1984 and secondly, no major game publisher was on board with the service. Powerhouses such as, Activision, Mattel, Parker Brothers and Atari themselves never signed on to the service.

Before the plug was finally pulled on the GameLine, there were two expansions to the service which were ready to go: One was called StockLine and the other SportsLine. Respectively, they were services that would deliver stock prices and sports scores. Also in the works – but not finished – were MailLine, a service similar to what we now know as e-mail, OpinionLine, which was designed to be an open discussion forum, NewsLine, a service designed to deliver news headlines, InfoLine, a miscellaneous service that could be used for horoscopes, classified ads or even airline schedules, and finally BankLine, which was designed to be an online banking system from which electronic fund transfers could be made from home.

All of these services would see the light of day in one form or another, in part thanks to Bill von Meister, who eventually left CVC and founded The Source, which would eventually become America Online.

[Zadoc]

1994 – The Sega Channel

Sega, the premier pioneer in online console gaming, got its network feet wet in 1994 with the debut of the Sega Channel. Partnering with Time Warner, the largest media conglomerate in the world, as well as Telecommunications, Inc., which at the time was the largest cable company in the world, Sega launched the Sega Channel to the American public for a premium cost of only $12.95 per month.

Why a cable channel? Sega had an idea. It wanted to directly rent its Genesis games to consumers, making more profits from the company and eliminating the need for brick and mortar rental chains, such as Blockbuster Video.

With the technology of the time, it would have been near impossible to create a network that would satisfy consumers on phone line based modems. However, cable in 1993 reached 90% of the American public and had enough bandwidth to deliver content in a timely manner.

Sega Channel subscribers would receive the service as well as a modem (it uploaded at1.435 GHz and downloaded at 1.1 GHz) which inserted into the cartridge slot of the Genesis console, much like the later released Genesis 32X expansion console.

Sega Channel subscribers had the ability to download several Genesis games for nearly free, (twenty-five cents a piece), and play them repeatedly until they powered off their system. About fifty games could be chosen from at a time and this list was altered from month to month.

The most popular feature was the “Test Drive” aspect of the Sega Channel. The “Test Drive” feature allowed subscribers to play previews of upcoming games that were not yet released. Some “Test Drive” games were imports that were never released in America, and some never released in cartridge form at all.

Sega advertised the channel heavily on both cable and public broadcast television. It received very favorable press, even being cited by Popular Science as being among 1994's most outstanding products.

However, Sega’s estimated 1 million subscribers by the end of the first year fell dramatically short. Only 150,000 users subscribed to the service. The primary downfall of the Sega Channel was availability. Though cable could reach over 90% of Americans, local cable providers were unsure that the concept could be a success and thus few chose to carry the network. As a result only an estimated 30% of US consumers could have been reached by the Sega Channel.

On November 24th, 1997, with the impending end of the 16-bit era present, the Sega Channel was shut down and neither it nor a similar service would ever return.

[Zadoc]

May 1995 - Catapult Entertainment

In the spring of 1995 Catapult Entertainment launched a product called the X-Band Modem and a service called the X-Band network.

The modem its self was sold for the two most popular systems of its day, the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo and cost only $19.95 at retail. The service, however, the X-band Network, cost $4.95 for fifty connections or games a month local telephone area code. Another option was more expensive; for $9.95 per month users had unlimited local connections. One could even play gamers long distance for only $3.95 an hour, anywhere in the continental United States. These priced, of course, were relatively inexpensive for the era.

One of the most popular features of the X-Band Network was the ability to send and receive X-Mail, which is essentially e-mail. The only draw back is that since no keyboard existed for either the Genesis or SNES, gamers had to use a cumbersome on-screen keyboard. After a match users could also chat with opponents using a similar interface.

The X-Band also had a call waiting feature, which would show incoming calls, a feature which was not standard on PCs until years later. X-Band was parent friendly too. It offered the ability for parents to lock out their children from establishing a connection to the X-band Network during specified hours.

Unfortunately, Catapult Entertainment’s amazing device was met with only lukewarm support from both consumers and publishers alike. Its limited number of compatible games (thirteen on Genesis and fourteen on SNES) combined with the fact that it was unable to produce Genesis vs. SNES online competition were seen as major drawbacks by consumers.

Ultimately, the decline of the 16-bit era led to the end of X-Band. On April 30th, 1997, the X-Band Network shut down permanently.

[Zadoc]

1995 Atari – In 1984 when Jack Tramiel, former CEO at Commodore Computers, bought Atari from Warner Communications, no one knew that he would run into the ground the most successful console manufacture in history at that time, and do it in just over a decade.

After the 1994 release of the underpowered “64-bit” Atari Jaguar, the system soon suffered from poor first party software, poor third party support, and downright bad and ugly games. The expansion system, Jaguar CD, did even poorer in the market.

At the 1994 CES Atari announced that it had forged a partnership with a company called Phylon, Inc. to create a voice modem for its Jaguar product, which was about to be rolled out nationwide:

June 23, 1994 — Consumer Electronics Show — Atari Corporation announced today that playing Jaguar games with opponents over a single telephone line will be a reality in the 4th quarter of 1994. New technology, developed by Phylon Communications Inc., leaders in advanced fax/modem/voice technology, permits two users to play Atari Jaguar video games against each other. Utilizing the same phone line, they may speak to each other as they play. The game experience is truly shared by the two gamers although they may be miles apart from each other.

The Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator uses headsets for the players to hear each other speak as well as listen to the stereo benefits of the game being played. Users will also have call waiting indications, both at local and remote ends, to pause and resume a game due to an interrupting call in the middle of a game. Thus, this product can be enjoyed by the players without being a nuisance to others in the home. "By offering our voice-plus-data technology to leading OEMs and systems manufacturers, like Atari, Phylon is pioneering multimedia communications technology on the dial-up network," noted Dr. Hamdi El-Sassi, President and CEO of Phylon.

The first games planned to exploit the features of the Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator are Doom(TM), Club Drive(TM) and Iron Soldier(TM). "Reports I have been receiving from Jaguar owners is that they are ready for this technology. We have it and we are going to offer it this Christmas," announced Sam Tramiel, President and CEO of Atari Corporation. "By reviewing each game we have in development, we have been able to make certain each one integrates every bit of power we can put into it." The Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator is compatible with Atari Jaguar; the world's first and only 64-bit interactive multimedia home entertainment system. The Atari Jaguar and compatible software titles have been awarded multiple awards for technical achievement, design and innovation worldwide. The Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator is packed complete with stereo headset and is engineered for user friendly, plug 'n' go operation. Future software options will enable the Jaguar Voice/Data Communicator to access existing and upcoming online services on the Information SuperHighway.

Alas, the Jaguar Voice Modem (JVM) was not to be released that Christmas, moreover, none of the games initially announced to support the device did so. In fact, the only game to support the device in the end was Ultra Vortek.

Eventually, in 1995, the decision was made not to mass produce the JVM. Today it is estimated that less than 100 JVM units have survived and are in the hands of collectors around the world.

Does it work? Yes, and it is reported that the 19.9kbps modem performs exceptionally well over dial up, and that while the voice chat isn’t the best in the world, it is always clear. JVM users also report that lag, though it shows its self from time to time, occurs rarely and is minimal. Users are required to directly dial their opponents.

Other features that it included is the ability to answer incoming phone calls and store up to 18 phone numbers.

[Zadoc]

1996 Sega Saturn Net Link

In 1996 Sega Corporation, which at the time produced video game consoles, had conceived a new product for its failing Sega Saturn. The product was called the Net Link. It was a 28.8kps modem which would allow Saturn owners to both surf the Internet and play games online against opponents across the country.

At the time there was no technology that could squeeze an internet browser into a system as limited as the Sega Saturn, which only had 500 bites of on board RAM. So Sega found Ken Soohoo.

Ken Soohoo has had an interest in computer and video technology all of his life. At the age of 16 he programmed his first video game for the Atari 2600. He went on to graduate from the University of California at Berkley with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science with an emphasis in computer graphics and splines. His first major role in the video game world was when he joined - and became Vice President of - a small video game developer called Digital Pictures Inc.

Once Sega allowed Soohoo a chance at a contract to create the first web browser for the Sega Saturn Net Link, he united with Kamran Elahain, and six others, and created a workable web browser for the Sega system. The seven of the formed a company which they named “Planet Web,” which they later renamed “Planetweb” in 1998, (at which time Ken Soohoo CTO of Planet Web became Ken Soohoo President and CEO of Planetweb).

The resulting product was the Version 1 browser. The Version 1 proved to be so bug ridden that it was never released. The Planet Web Version 2 Net Link browser allowed for Saturn owners to send and receive e-mail, browse the internet, and eventually chat via Internet Relay Chat, better known as IRC.

Around the Net Link sprung up online communities. For many the Saturn was their first taste of the World Wide Web. Websites and forums sprung up everywhere that were created with a Net Link and for Net Link users.

Sega even released a mouse, keyboard and a keyboard adaptor (to convert standard PC keyboards for Saturn use) to make the internet experience more authentic. However, later plans for the release of a floppy disc drive and a printer for the US market were never realized.

After the US launch of the Net Link hopes were high for the device. It was outselling its nearest rival, the WebTV, by a margin greater than two to one. That being well and good, but where were the games?

It took Sega of America a while, too long of a while some would say, to begin to get online Net Link compatible games to the public.

Finally, it happened. Planet Web released the Version 3.0 web browser for the Net Link and along with it were packaged Net Link editions of Sega Rally Championship and Virtual On: Cybertroopers.

With all Net Link enabled games, players would be given the option to play online or off. If they decide to play online they were connected to an IRC channel where they could meet and chat with other “Netlinkers.” It was the preferred to find opponents in one’s local community, as Saturn online gaming required players to “direct dial” their fellow gamers. This meant that long distance charges could apply.

In the end, there were just five games produced for the Saturn that had Net Link compatibility: Virtual On: Cybertroopers, Sega Rally Championship, Daytona USA C.C.E., Duke Nukem and Saturn Bomberman. All but Saturn Bomberman supported only two players at a time, a limitation which prevented truly great frag-fests in Duke Nukem from ever occurring.

Though Planetweb had an advanced public beta test for a Version 4.0 brower, it never saw the light of day. In the Saturn’s demise, Planetweb had their eye on other projects.

[Zadoc]

So, I am curious, any oever use that Atari service or Sega Channel?

[ClassicGameTrader]

Thanks, that was a good read

[Zadoc]

You're welcome, I appreciate the feedback.

[Bratwurst]

Excellent and thorough, I can appreciate the exclusion of efforts that never got off the ground like the NES and Genesis modems because ultimately they were little more than footnotes. Reflecting on Sega's love affair with online interactivity and how each attempt ultimately flopped maybe explains why Nintendo was so damn reluctant to get into that venue.

[CaryMG]

Unfortunately, Catapult Entertainment’s amazing device was met with only lukewarm support from both consumers and publishers alike.

Ultimately, the decline of the 16-bit era led to the end of X-Band.

On April 30th, 1997, the X-Band Network shut down permanently.

It's comin' back -- click here ta read about it > "X*BAND" Revival Project


Later!

[Zadoc]

Unfortunately, Catapult Entertainment’s amazing device was met with only lukewarm support from both consumers and publishers alike.

Ultimately, the decline of the 16-bit era led to the end of X-Band.

On April 30th, 1997, the X-Band Network shut down permanently.

It's comin' back -- click here ta read about it > "X*BAND" Revival Project


Later!

I can't imagine that anyone would want to do dial up. I don't even have a dial up ISP. That's the only reason why I don't game on my NetLink still.

[Poofta!]

interesting read, although i have to voice my opinion that the original atari effort probably failed due to the half baked pricing scheme and gaming rights (only 8 plays for the cost of the game, the cost of subscription and cost of initial bundle).


i was gonna say you left out the sfc sattelaview but realized this is US only. good stuff, thanks for the write up.

[diskoboy]

What about the Intellivision PlayCable??

[dbiersdorf]

Was Satellaview never considered "online"? What about Dreamcast?

Either way great read, thanks to you if you wrote it, I had no idea online gaming started on the 2600.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I was going to ask about the Dreamcast as well. It counts, a lot of people used it (and still do to an extent) to browse the internet. I would use it if I could - but I don't own a broadband adaptor.

[MrSmiley381]

I was going to ask about the Dreamcast as well. It counts, a lot of people used it (and still do to an extent) to browse the internet. I would use it if I could - but I don't own a broadband adaptor.

Actually, it's possible to hook the puppy up to a PC and share the connection. Then again, if you have to go through all that, it serves no real purpose, right?

[Zadoc]

I didn't include Dreamcast because I do not consider it to be retro. Same reason why I left out Xbox, PS2, Gamecube and Xbox 360.

I didn't to the Satallaview (sp) or Sega's modem for the Genesis because they were not domestic. I considered doing the overseas stuff, but a lot of the information that I was looking for was not in English. Also, in my research I found that there might have been some other Asian and European online console attempts, so I left it out.

I also left out retro online enabled handheld consoles such as the GBC and Game.com because I was focusing on home consoles.

Thanks to everyone who voiced their appreciation.

[Zadoc]

What about the Intellivision PlayCable??

I was unaware of this service, I'll add an article on it!

[Nukie]

In response to your question, I had the Sega Channel for about 6 months all those years ago. It was pretty cool.

[carnage6]

I was under the impression Saturn Bomberman supported 4 players on NetLink. 2 people per system. Am I wrong?

PG