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Title: Am I the only one who remembers Xband? Post by: WindupAtheist on September 20, 2009, 10:09:47 PM I recall being vaguely surprised that even Schild didn't know WTF I was talking about last time I mentioned it a couple years ago. It was a phone modem that fit in between the cartridge and the SNES (or Genesis) the way a Game Genie would, and let you chat and play games against other players. It had rankings, email, a newsletter it would download and display, and even a keyboard you could send away for that plugged into the player two controller slot.
I just found some Youtube vids, and they're making me nostalgic is all. Witness the glory of mid 1990's online console gaming! Chat (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2yhTs5w7xI&feature=player_profilepage), play (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmS5q8THrg0&feature=player_profilepage), rankings (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQwB8q_QPDA&feature=player_profilepage). Look at all the horriblly dated 'tude they slathered on. Jesus. Some of my closest friends to this very day were kids I met on Xband. Nobody shelled out for the nationwide service, so everyone could only play people in their local calling area. Hence everyone ended up hanging out IRL. I still have mine around somewhere but, since it relies on a long-dead server, one can't just plug it in and play a round of Killer Instinct for the hell of it. That "only local opponents for you fucking cheapskate kids" thing was what really made it. Not good for profits though. Title: Re: Am I the only one who remembers Xband? Post by: Fordel on September 20, 2009, 10:15:58 PM I only know of it through what I saw on commercials and from that one kid in my school, that always, *always* had the most obscure and ultimately doomed consoles and accessories.
Title: Re: Am I the only one who remembers Xband? Post by: WindupAtheist on September 20, 2009, 10:17:46 PM My then-fifteen year old brother bought it, and I scoffed at the time. But god damn, it was the best.
Title: Re: Am I the only one who remembers Xband? Post by: ahoythematey on September 20, 2009, 10:38:09 PM I remember it, but didn't particularly care for the actual product once I had a taste. Even if I had liked it, I was playing Deathwish at the time(now called Aezure, or something), and wouldn't have been able to swing another sub fee past the parental units.
But...yeah, it was definitely a product marketed towards boys in the early nineties. I remember that pretty clearly. Title: Re: Am I the only one who remembers Xband? Post by: proudft on September 22, 2009, 09:56:32 PM Anything ending in -band to me means:
(http://www.gamesetwatch.com/angband.gif) |