Generation XBAND Goes Online
The year was 1995. One evening while checking out at my local Blockbuster Video store, a new product and promotion caught my eye. The XBAND video game modem and service for the SNES! If I recall correctly the promotion was that if I bought the XBAND for like $24.00, I also received 2 free game rentals. I could not pass it up and within hours I was at home, dialing up, going online with my SNES console and creating my XBAND account!
The XBAND worked like black magic at the time and completely blew my mind. It enabled me to go online and play Mortal Kombat II, Killer Instinct and Super Mario Kart against various gamers from a 16-bit game console and with games that were NEVER designed for online capabilities! :D
In addition to all of that, I had a gamer Avatar, a profile with gameplay stats and I could send and receive Email messages. In 1994 this was absolutely freaking AMAZING!
The name I used on the XBAND network was: CyberMcFly. That meant that was my first Email address on the internet. I mostly played Killer Instinct and Mortal Kombat II on the network in the Jacksonville and Jacksonville Beach metro area (904 area code).
My very first real Email messages were sent/received from my XBAND account: cybermcfly@xband.net. I used to Email friends on AOL from my SNES. LOL!
Care to see me unbox a new XBAND for SNES modem?
XBAND Video Game Modem Unboxing
Do you still own your XBand modem? Have you tried powering it on in the last 25 years? Just curious.
How long did you end up using XBAND to play against other folks on their network?