XBAND

XBAND (stylized as XB∀ND) was the first online console gaming network, and was available for Super NES and Genesis systems. It was produced by Catapult Entertainment, a Cupertino, California-based software company. It is the only modem released in America to have been officially licensed by Nintendo. It debuted in various areas of the United States in late 1994 and 1995. Online console gaming networks were eventually stabilized in the sixth and later generations of video games, such as Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Nintendo Network.

The Genesis version of the XBAND was released in November 1994, with the Super NES version following in June 1995.

In 1995, Catapult Entertainment signed a deal with General Instrument, producers of the Sega Channel, which stipulated that the XBand modem would henceforth be built into new Sega Channel adapters, and that the top 5 to 10 games offered by Sega Channel each month would be wired for play over XBand.

Initially, Catapult Entertainment had a limited staff and virtually no advertising. By January 1996, XBAND network playability had reached practically every metropolitan area and several rural areas in the U.S. The actual XBAND modems were carried by a handful of software and video rental chains across the United States. Internationally, the XBAND saw some limited expansion in the Japanese market, and Catapult was working on PC- and Sega Saturn-based versions of the platform, though they were acquired by Mpath Interactive, and the focus shifted to the online PC gaming service, Mplayer.com.

The concept of playing online was fairly new at the time. Arcades were still quite popular, and online gaming was not yet a household idea.

The XBAND modem was widely available at Blockbuster Video branches during its time. It retailed for $19.99, with additional charges based on usage. Two pricing plans were available. One had a monthly fee of $4.95 and allowed the user to connect to the service up to 50 times a month with each additional connection costing 15 cents. The other had a monthly fee of $9.95 and granted the subscriber an unlimited number of connections per month. Activities that consumed a player's monthly allowance of connections included dialing into the XBAND service for matchmaking, downloading mail (called "XMAIL"), and downloading the daily edition of the two XBAND newsletters, one containing generic news and the other containing platform-specific information such as leaderboards and contest announcements. Players were also assessed a fee of $3.95/hour for connecting to opponents outside their local calling area; player-to-player connections inside their local calling area were free.

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