@RetroShinigami As much as I hate to say it, it probably was a fail. I had it, and played against hundreds of different people in Mario Kart all over the country. But the subscriber base was only in the thousands, and it died after 3 years. R.I.P. Xband.
Actually Atari's Gameline was the first modem for an a console on the Atari 2600. You didn't compete head to head online but you could download games temporarily more so like Sega Channel but you could submit high scores and if you were the best regionally you got a prize.
How the heck did I miss this growing up? I woulda wanted that when i was a kid. Well I'm not sure my mom woulda been willing to fork out money every month for a subscription fee. She probably woulda just said "you have friends to play your games with. Go by their houses." Still when you look back at it, the concept of online gaming with consols was an idea way ahead of it's time. Especially during a time when not too many people owned personal computers or had internet.
LMAO! that was great! the funniest thing was that he was like "it will start out at major cities like N.Y and L.A. and then branch out all over the country" Funniest part is that Michigan didn't have one damn dot lol, unbelievable haha.
wow takes me back!!!! I beta tested the Sega version, I played this alot racking up craaazy phone bills :( The Beta test modems were Clear plastic which was good cause I could see where to drill a hole to gain access to the battery when the button battery died on me one day.
ohhhh shitt i had this. i was like the only dude that i new had 1. all my friends didnt belive me when i told them about xbond.. i almost got kick out the house for useing my nabours house line. and my moms visa to get online. lol
Yeah I played a lot of games on xband but this shit was EXPENSIVE lol. I mean you have broadband connections plus xbox live gold membership for less a year than what you paid in less than half the time on xband. Worked pretty well but did have those lag moments mk2 would do it to me all the time in the middle of a good match.
so does this mean Snes players could play Sega contestants if they had the same game, that would be a big seller for me! XD, cant do that with wii xbox ps3
The moment I saw the kiosk in the mall promoting Xband was the moment I went over to Electronics Boutique and bought it with my buddy. Playing NHL 95 against him rockes, although the game controls felt a touch slower. This was WAY AHEAD OF ITS TIME!
so far ahead of the market.. they were amazing service... was on xband genesis and played madden 95 and NHL95 as **G-Man** was top 10 nationwide on NHL95 with only 2 losses ever ;p
i had this back in the day. i played hours and hours of MK2 for the genesis. my name back then was and still is *g0oFus*. i remember some of the other OG's from back in the day like TheMasterJon, TheHeartbreakKid, Harkonen, and of course TheUnknownXXX (who taught me how to play as liu kang lol) good times...
he posted a reply to this video just before I did. BTW, I was the best-man at his wedding. He's been family to me for over 15 years.
Good to see those names like TheMasterJon and Harkonen (who I remember dc'ed on me after I got a double perfect on him in SSF2 - he's from Florida I believe). The memories this thing brings back will always be with me.
@13thDegree Naw bro I wasn't THeHeaRTBReaKKiD (which is how he spelled his name. He was the first dude in our local area I played MKII against & he was from Bayonne, also his sister was named Sindel on Xband as well & I talked to her on the phone a few times before they moved. He schooled me in the first 14 games till I got real good then he never beat me again. I use to beat is ass after that. I actually met TheMasterJon from Decatur Georgia (I lost to him in the tournament).
@PorkyGRock Here is a funny story that ties into meeting TheMasterJon. I had well over 1,500 wins and only 15 losses in MKII when I went to meet him (14 to THeHeaRTBReaKKiD & 1 to TheMasterJon), when I got back home I had 72 losses. I had told my nephew Mikey not to play on nationwide &even made a name for him to use cause I didn't want him screwing my record (which he didn't listen). lol In Georgia I handed TheMasterJon his ass repeatedly as his tournament win was a fluke but he was good.
@PorkyGRock When Xband ended in 1997 I had over 4,800 wins & 72 losses. I have pictures on my Facebook of my name in Tips&Tricks. Oh & I was Mid-Knight Lover, my Sega Xband had me listed as Jersey City sometimes but I was from Hoboken. I also had Snes but I didn't play it much, I was a MKII fiend & MKII on Snes Xband was too laggy for me.
omg i had this for snes i was so heavily involved in it my fav game to play was killer instinct. i even had my own "club" and i made a newsletter for it on my profile. thats how we did it, since you were really limited on what you could do.
Yeah, it was a great little device! I played ALOT of NBA Jam T.E. and Super Mario Kart. My XBand name was: Red Fuel Delux ( don't ask ;)
I remember a couple times I made the Top 10 list on the XBand News -- I thought I was a bad ass - hahahahahaha I also ran a video game gossip page on my profile.
I remember after nationwide challenges the other party would pick up the phone after entering chat and we would talk on the phone long distance for free.
not even.. i still like xband over any online gamin now a days.. xbands set up was better.. cuz people gave a fuck was in your profile.. that was the best shit.. now a days you play online and people cant even remeber the guys name they just spent 2 hours playing with..
oh yeah ***X*** cuz he made a special post about myself cuz we were e-beef'n. Yeah i really miss waking up and looking at the new top ten of that days game and seeing who was keeping the highest ranks,and just hearing the modem connect to match you with people randomly. Wierdest thing i ever had was when i was local only i beat everyone in my area at KI,and when i made the top ten list that week,i got someone from outside my area matched me,that network Xband was a champion of its era.
man.. i was on this soo much it wasnt crazy,i remember being local only then getting nationwide,the crazy grps people tried soo hard to be on like NBK , uD etc and
friends with secret icons like akuma,the black shadow and the xband hack,the 800 skytel hacks where everyone had boxes,damn THOSE WERE THE GOOD OLE DAYS FOR REALS!!
Hah, I remember playing NBA Jam T.E. with someone of NBK affiliation. You remember when people started message board newsletters? Some people had two accounts just so they could add more message boards ;) I used to post gaming news from the internet on my two XB modems (SNES). People really got into it. I miss those days, too.
This would be amazing if you could do this shit on a 360. Why is the 360 not online?
Weeman44444444444444 2 months ago
1 person wasn't playing for real
Superman563 2 months ago
Man this was sooo cheaper then XBL
igordotnet 2 months ago
XBand: Prepare to lose!
xBox live: LOLLL FAG FAGGOT FUCK U HAHA XDD
RdMrcr 2 months ago 3
This is sick, can you still use it or is it dead?
nzo41x 2 months ago
i challen you do a duel!
darkinertia2 5 months ago in playlist More videos from Grooveraider
@RetroShinigami As much as I hate to say it, it probably was a fail. I had it, and played against hundreds of different people in Mario Kart all over the country. But the subscriber base was only in the thousands, and it died after 3 years. R.I.P. Xband.
Xband411 1 year ago
xbox live bow down, you're the Xband's bitch now
erik4727 1 year ago
Actually Atari's Gameline was the first modem for an a console on the Atari 2600. You didn't compete head to head online but you could download games temporarily more so like Sega Channel but you could submit high scores and if you were the best regionally you got a prize.
brak014 1 year ago
OMG I LOVE 90s ADS
OgnarPliskin 1 year ago
Wow, this looks awesome. Online gaming before Xbox Live existed. WAY before it existed.
gmaster2647 1 year ago
^i^AngelOfDeath LIVES! N*H*G FOR LIFE!
AngelOfDeath420 1 year ago
Did Apple employees play xBand look where that CyberGuy came from Cupertino CA xD
iTat1000 1 year ago
My god I remember this when I was young and man this service was prone to trolls and cheating.
NOOBNUT08 1 year ago
How the heck did I miss this growing up? I woulda wanted that when i was a kid. Well I'm not sure my mom woulda been willing to fork out money every month for a subscription fee. She probably woulda just said "you have friends to play your games with. Go by their houses." Still when you look back at it, the concept of online gaming with consols was an idea way ahead of it's time. Especially during a time when not too many people owned personal computers or had internet.
psovegeta 1 year ago
I was like 1 out of 4 people in my city that had this lol
hgallegos915 2 years ago
Comment removed
wocko1 2 years ago
Wow... I heard once about this but seeing the ad REALLY opened my eyes up.
2:55 "And maybe even... well, not yet. But maybe!" I LOLED!
BlooditeDrakan 2 years ago
Man I wish I knew about this back in the day.
JerryTerrifying 2 years ago 9
LMAO! that was great! the funniest thing was that he was like "it will start out at major cities like N.Y and L.A. and then branch out all over the country" Funniest part is that Michigan didn't have one damn dot lol, unbelievable haha.
lukemorse1 2 years ago 3
i heard about this when i was a kid. but i never had one
minion6500 2 years ago
wow takes me back!!!! I beta tested the Sega version, I played this alot racking up craaazy phone bills :( The Beta test modems were Clear plastic which was good cause I could see where to drill a hole to gain access to the battery when the button battery died on me one day.
DaltonSR20DET 2 years ago
No, the network was taken down in late 1995.
MessyPaint 2 years ago
I think you mean 1997. :)
NOOBNUT08 2 years ago
My bad. Must have misread wiki.
MessyPaint 2 years ago
Do the servers still operate? Probably not, but just checking.
gojira12345678910 2 years ago
I was Killrazor+ on MK1 for the Genesis. I ruled that leaderboard for 24 weeks straight. Oh the memories!! Xband ruled!
pkemen 2 years ago
Comment removed
pkemen 2 years ago
wow i never thought xband came out for snes i just lost my child hood noooooooooo
longdickandwhat 2 years ago 2
even though this is one of the first...i think the dreamcast revolutionized everything.....just do sum research...its my fav 2 lol
Ramiznfriends 2 years ago
OMG!!! WHAAAAAAT?!!!! kaillera is so late.
tecmo1 2 years ago
ohhhh shitt i had this. i was like the only dude that i new had 1. all my friends didnt belive me when i told them about xbond.. i almost got kick out the house for useing my nabours house line. and my moms visa to get online. lol
badnewztv 2 years ago
I was a beta tester for Xband back in 1994. The prototype modem came in ultra rad clear plastic casing :)
djryanrichards 2 years ago
Yeah I played a lot of games on xband but this shit was EXPENSIVE lol. I mean you have broadband connections plus xbox live gold membership for less a year than what you paid in less than half the time on xband. Worked pretty well but did have those lag moments mk2 would do it to me all the time in the middle of a good match.
Daddysmonsters 2 years ago
so does this mean Snes players could play Sega contestants if they had the same game, that would be a big seller for me! XD, cant do that with wii xbox ps3
IndieGameWatch 2 years ago
I loved the anticipation while wondering who you were going to face when an opponent was found. XBand was good times.
Xband411 3 years ago
Man, I played sooo freaking much XBand SNES online. Was popular here in Pennsylvania, always a local match-up.
toomanygames 3 years ago 2
my mom got me this for xmas but made me take it back because it had a monthly fee.... i wanted to play mortal kombat 3 online :(
marXistR3B3L 3 years ago
Did alot of people use the service? I never even heard of it before today.
zedrein18 3 years ago
I the time, I was dreaming to have it... Badly, dad don't want to buy it due to some problem...
therrydicule 3 years ago
wow nobody believes me when i tell them about this, i played mk2 like hell
creapah 3 years ago
The moment I saw the kiosk in the mall promoting Xband was the moment I went over to Electronics Boutique and bought it with my buddy. Playing NHL 95 against him rockes, although the game controls felt a touch slower. This was WAY AHEAD OF ITS TIME!
XBand ID: RangerJoe
messngretz 3 years ago
This looks quite cool!
kreeddem 3 years ago
God I have the Mega Modem _AND_ The XBand Modem
BlackWolfessUSCM 3 years ago
I still have mine, got the source code for it somewhere.
djeraser 3 years ago
so far ahead of the market.. they were amazing service... was on xband genesis and played madden 95 and NHL95 as **G-Man** was top 10 nationwide on NHL95 with only 2 losses ever ;p
nukepuppy 3 years ago
i had this back in the day. i played hours and hours of MK2 for the genesis. my name back then was and still is *g0oFus*. i remember some of the other OG's from back in the day like TheMasterJon, TheHeartbreakKid, Harkonen, and of course TheUnknownXXX (who taught me how to play as liu kang lol) good times...
g0ofus 4 years ago
I remember theHeartbreakKid, the one from NJ, right? I was Lord Leviathan back on xband.
Lumadil 3 years ago
yea HBK was from NJ. Did you play on the genesis or snes xband? if genesis, then we prob played!!
g0ofus 3 years ago
TheHeartbreakKid = MidknightLover
he posted a reply to this video just before I did. BTW, I was the best-man at his wedding. He's been family to me for over 15 years.
Good to see those names like TheMasterJon and Harkonen (who I remember dc'ed on me after I got a double perfect on him in SSF2 - he's from Florida I believe). The memories this thing brings back will always be with me.
13thDegree 3 years ago 2
Midknightlover rules, was friends with him back on xband. i was Lord Leviathan back then.
Lumadil 3 years ago
@13thDegree Naw bro I wasn't THeHeaRTBReaKKiD (which is how he spelled his name. He was the first dude in our local area I played MKII against & he was from Bayonne, also his sister was named Sindel on Xband as well & I talked to her on the phone a few times before they moved. He schooled me in the first 14 games till I got real good then he never beat me again. I use to beat is ass after that. I actually met TheMasterJon from Decatur Georgia (I lost to him in the tournament).
PorkyGRock 9 months ago
@PorkyGRock Here is a funny story that ties into meeting TheMasterJon. I had well over 1,500 wins and only 15 losses in MKII when I went to meet him (14 to THeHeaRTBReaKKiD & 1 to TheMasterJon), when I got back home I had 72 losses. I had told my nephew Mikey not to play on nationwide &even made a name for him to use cause I didn't want him screwing my record (which he didn't listen). lol In Georgia I handed TheMasterJon his ass repeatedly as his tournament win was a fluke but he was good.
PorkyGRock 9 months ago
@PorkyGRock When Xband ended in 1997 I had over 4,800 wins & 72 losses. I have pictures on my Facebook of my name in Tips&Tricks. Oh & I was Mid-Knight Lover, my Sega Xband had me listed as Jersey City sometimes but I was from Hoboken. I also had Snes but I didn't play it much, I was a MKII fiend & MKII on Snes Xband was too laggy for me.
PorkyGRock 9 months ago
omg i had this for snes i was so heavily involved in it my fav game to play was killer instinct. i even had my own "club" and i made a newsletter for it on my profile. thats how we did it, since you were really limited on what you could do.
charliegrs 4 years ago 2
Yeah, it was a great little device! I played ALOT of NBA Jam T.E. and Super Mario Kart. My XBand name was: Red Fuel Delux ( don't ask ;)
I remember a couple times I made the Top 10 list on the XBand News -- I thought I was a bad ass - hahahahahaha I also ran a video game gossip page on my profile.
Grooveraider 4 years ago
And to think this isnt even the first online gaming service for consoles. I beleive there was a modem for the Intellivision if I remember correctly.
smroWfonaC 4 years ago
Yes, there was a online service for the Intellevision. It was called PlayCable...
llAVALANCHEll 3 years ago
I USED TO HAVETHIS ON MY SNES WEE!
hgallegos915 4 years ago
Good lord! Neither me nor my parents even heard about this thing.
VictorGolfCharles 4 years ago
XBAND SCREENNAMES:
CYBERASSASSIN
THEDARKWARLORD
SSF2 RECORD 513-20 (cyberassassin)
Highest ranking: 4th Nationwide
Highest rated opponent defeated: 2nd Nationwide
XBand WAS THE EPITOME OF ONLINE COMPETITIVE GAMING
13thDegree 4 years ago
Are you telling me XBand still works? And people still use it? Who is getting the money for all the subscriber money.
Panpizza15 4 years ago
I remember after nationwide challenges the other party would pick up the phone after entering chat and we would talk on the phone long distance for free.
PorkyGRock 4 years ago
I had the SNES version and I played it so much the 4 music themes became favorites of mine.....I have 2 of those themes in my Ipod!
-TGF- for life.....kicked ass and took names in SSFII....
KrayzieCD 4 years ago
how do you get the songs from xband? i loved all those songs...
MrStudMuffin 4 years ago
"Well, not yet... But maybe." xBand was great. Online gaming is seriously taken for granted these days.
NexusTK 4 years ago
not even.. i still like xband over any online gamin now a days.. xbands set up was better.. cuz people gave a fuck was in your profile.. that was the best shit.. now a days you play online and people cant even remeber the guys name they just spent 2 hours playing with..
twonasty 4 years ago 2
I Was Only 8 Months Old When This Came Out, But My Brother Always Used To Play This On His Genesis. I Don't Know What Happend To The Modem.
fecman94 4 years ago
oh yeah ***X*** cuz he made a special post about myself cuz we were e-beef'n. Yeah i really miss waking up and looking at the new top ten of that days game and seeing who was keeping the highest ranks,and just hearing the modem connect to match you with people randomly. Wierdest thing i ever had was when i was local only i beat everyone in my area at KI,and when i made the top ten list that week,i got someone from outside my area matched me,that network Xband was a champion of its era.
010101666010101666 4 years ago
man.. i was on this soo much it wasnt crazy,i remember being local only then getting nationwide,the crazy grps people tried soo hard to be on like NBK , uD etc and
friends with secret icons like akuma,the black shadow and the xband hack,the 800 skytel hacks where everyone had boxes,damn THOSE WERE THE GOOD OLE DAYS FOR REALS!!
010101666010101666 4 years ago
Hah, I remember playing NBA Jam T.E. with someone of NBK affiliation. You remember when people started message board newsletters? Some people had two accounts just so they could add more message boards ;) I used to post gaming news from the internet on my two XB modems (SNES). People really got into it. I miss those days, too.
Grooveraider 4 years ago
@010101666010101666 I remember the whole SkyTel hacking
TheeVulture 6 months ago
wow!!!!!
if i had existed back then i probably would have fainted
if i had heard about online gaming in 1994!!!!
Robochao00 4 years ago
This is unreal for the time period. And to think I thought Xbox live was innovative.
JonnyRo88 4 years ago
I remember hearing about the XBand for SNES Doom, but I don't think it was available in Canada...
Pretty innovative concept though for 1994.
RaptormanMT 5 years ago
Awe man, that was the good 'ol days! I still have my xBand modem!
SOBAY310 5 years ago