Early Online Services

This page lists and documents early online services that predate Xbox LIVE (pre-2003) the service that kick started the modern era of online services.

GameLine (Atari 2600)

GameLine was created by Control Video Corporation (now AOL). Gameline allowed users to download games using dialup. needing a modem and storage cartridge from Control Video Corperation. $60 for the modem and cartridge, $15 for the membership fee and $1 for the game. Launched in 1983 the (Video game crash of 1983) the Gameline was soon discontinued.

PlayCable (Intellivision)

PlayCable was developed by Mattel and General Instrument, How you got games was an PlayCable adapter. You needed a cable company that supported PlayCable. A monthly subscription for PlayCable was $4.95 a month. Launched in 1980, Discontinued in 1984.

PlayNET (Commodore 64)

The service had two membership tiers: 8 a month service charge + 2.75 an hour charge for connection. or no service charge and 3.75 an hour connection charge. File Downloads were 0.50 each.

Quantum Link (Commodore 64 & 128)

Quantum Link (Q-Link) launched in late 1985, Q-link featured Email, Online chat (People Connection department), online news, instant messaging, multiplayer games. In late 1986 Q-link added casino games. Q-link was a modified version of PlayNet. With a monthly fee of $9.95 and additional fees of Placeholder Text.

Games Computers Play (Atari 8-bit & ST)

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CD-Online (Philips CD-i)

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Famicom Modem \ Network System (NES)

A Japan-exclusive network peripheral that allowed users to connect to a Nintendo server that provided extra content such as jokes, news, game tips, weather forecasts, horse betting and downloadable content via dial-up modem.

Satellaview (SNES)

The Satellaview was a subscription-based add-on released only in Japan that streamed content to the Super Famicom. BS-X or Satellaview software was broadcast to the console add-on and stored as temporary data to be deleted shortly afterward. As such, a wealth of games went undumped and lost forever.

Many of these games had Soundlink features and would have assets like streamed music and voice acting, as well as some extra data, but these have been lost forever outside of video recordings and OST releases. These games will likely play without music on your emulator. The entirely fan-made MSU-1 feature on the higan emulator tries to replicate the BS-X Satellaview and unreleased SNES-CD concept for streamed music in SNES games far beyond the 12 MB cartridge capacity,, but it's not the same thing.

Some games like BS Treasure Conflix make use of the additional RAM provided by the BS-X add-on. While you can try playing them on regular SNES emulators, you may face issues for many of these games (no font appearing, hangs with a black screen, and so on). You'll need Satellaview emulation to properly emulate those games.

bsnes and snes9x are recommended. They use your PC clock with no option to modify it, though. SNESGT had the option to modify the clock, but it wasn't updated for a while and isn't really recommended for SNES emulation in general. No$SNS has good BS-X emulation (and the best debugger tools for ROM hackers and translators) but falls behind the others when it comes to general emulation.

You'll need the BS-X BIOS to properly emulate the Satellaview. It goes as "BS-X.bin" under the "BIOS" folder when using snes9x. There are many variants. You'll want the translated one (with English text) with removed DRM so that you can play a given broadcast without restrictions on how many times you can do so, like in the original hardware.

Whenever you open a BS-X compatible ROM (that wasn't modified to behave like a normal SNES game, like most BS Zelda translations were), you'll be greeted by the BIOS software. It will ask you to choose your name and avatar, which you can control in a city. Of course, the St-GIGA broadcast service went defunct in 2000, so the big radio tower will just give you a "Hello Satellaview" test broadcast. However, you may be interested in seeing how Nintendo used to do loading screens. To see them without them shutting down instantly, open BSX0001-47.bin (bsxdat folder) in a hex editor and change offset 0x06 from 0x30 to 0x00. Most houses will be closed, though.

You'll want to enter the little red house you start in front of and load the stored data. Sometimes, you might have to wait a while before actual gameplay starts or until a given time. On real hardware, people would wait for up to 6 minutes!

Data Pack emulation

AKA DLC for the Super Famicom.

Data Packs are Satellaview 8M Memory Paks, which have data meant to be used as an expansion for a Data Pack-compatible game. Data Pack-compatible game cartridges look like the BS-X Cartridge. For most of these games, data was distributed via St.GIGA’s Satellaview streaming services. Same Game and SD Gundam G-Next had some Data Packs sold in physical form via retail stores. RPG Tsukuru 2, Sound Novel Tsukuru and Ongaku Tsukuru Kanaderu could save user-created data to 8M Memory Paks.

The following games were compatible with Data Packs:

• Derby Stallion 96
• Joushou Mahjong Tenpai
• Ongaku Tsukuru Kanaderu
• RPG Tsukuru 2
• Same Game
• SD Gundam G-NEXT
• Shigesato Itoi no Bass Tsuri No. 1
• Sound Novel Tsukuru

These Data Packs are available on ROM sites as regular SFC files, but their actual nature couldn't be more different. Unlike regular SNES games, they won't load in SNES emulators by themselves. These emulators support this feature:

• Snes9x: To play SFC games with Memory Pack support (also works with BS-X): Use File -> Load MultiCart... and put the main game in Slot A and the Memory Pack dump in Slot B. Memory Pack changes are not saved automatically, you need to use Save Other -> Save Memory Pack. (Optional) You can put Satellaview Broadcast Files in a folder named SatData (can be changed in the settings). Satellaview Time & Date are based on current time.
• bsnes-plus: To play SFC games with Memory Pack support: Under "File/Load Slotted BS-X Cartridge". Memory Pack changes are not saved automatically, you need to use File -> Save Memory Pack... bsxdat folder contains Satellaview Broadcast Files. Satellaview expansion needs to be enabled to work. You can change the Satellaview Time & Date in the settings to either use the current time or start with a specific time setup (recommended).
• higan: Importing a memory pak is like importing a regular game, but the name of the memory pak file must end in .bs (if it’s in a .zip file, that’s OK, but the name inside the .zip file must end in .bs) in order for it to be successfully imported. Sometimes memory pak filenames end in .sfc, which will make higan try to import them as regular Super Famicom games and fail. Rename the file and it should work beautifully. Playing a game that has a slot for a memory pak is just like playing a regular game, but after you have selected which game you want to play higan will open another filesystem browser to let you pick which previously-imported memory pak you want to insert into the game. If you press “Cancel” at this point, the game will load without any cartridge in its memory pak slot. If you load the control cartridge into higan, make sure the emulated Satellaview is connected to the emulated Super Famicom’s expansion port by opening the “Super Famicom” menu, selecting the “Expansion Port” sub-menu, and choosing “Satellaview”. If the expansion port was previously configured with a different option, power-cycle the Super Famicom (also in the “Super Famicom” menu) to make sure the control cartridge will find the Satellaview when it starts up. Note that higan’s Satellaview emulation is not very accurate, so the control cartridge may not work as it should. Playing a memory pak on its own doesn’t make much sense, it’s not a standalone cartridge. Play a game with a memory pak slot, and choose which memory pak you want when higan asks for it.

Sega Meganet (Genesis)

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Mega Modem

The Mega Modem is a modem for the Sega Mega Drive released in 1990 exclusively in Japan. It allowed Mega Drive owners to connect their consoles to various online services provided by Sega and third parties.

List of compatible games with Mega Modem

Sega Channel (Genesis)

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Modem cartridge (N64)

The modem cartridge (NUS-029) connects at up to 28.8 kbit/s, for the defunct Randnet service and compatible 64DD games and web browser.

SharkWire Online (N64)

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NetLink (Sega Saturn)

Sometimes called "XBAND" and is a modem for Sega Saturn. Possibly can be emulated by YabaSanshiro.

• XBAND Supported games for Saturn
• XBAND Supported games for Saturn #2

SegaNet (Dreamcast)

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Broadband Adapter

The Dreamcast came out of the box equipped with a 56k dial-up modem that was supported by every DC game with online functionality. However, some of those games had additional support for the Broadband Adapter (BBA) accessory, which replaced the 56k modem and used Ethernet networking to deliver much higher internet speeds. Many games have been brought back due to private servers run and operated by fans such as:

• DreamcastLive
• dreamcast-talk
• Dreamcast Now

For more information about other revive projects see Preservation projects page.

Nintendo Power (SNES \ Game Boy)

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i-mode (PS1)

The i-mode Adaptor cable (SCPH-10180) allows to connect an i-mode compatible mobile phone to the PlayStation's controller port; granting a mobile internet connection to japanese games. If you have an i-mode donating it no$psx may help it to be emulated. More info on the i-mode: [1], [2].

The i-mode is a Japanese exclusive device. Currently no emulators support it. List of games compatible with the i-mode adaptor

Lightspan Online Connection CD (PS1)

Unreleased web browser/email client for the PS1 (Lightspan Online Connection CD | Game-Rave TV Ep. 100)

Network Adaptor (PS2)

Revived private servers for PS2 online play

List of games that supported the online functionality of the PlayStation 2 and revived private servers

The Network Adapter is a peripheral that is used to play PS2 games online (Network Play) via ethernet broadband or analog modem. PlayStation 2 slim models Ethernet functionality of the Network Adaptor has been integrated onto the motherboard, slim models don't have an external interface to connect a Network Adapter. Many games have been brought back due to servers run and operated by fans such as PS2Online and the SOCOM Community server;

• PCSX2 supports this peripheral.
• AetherSX2: AetherSX2 does support the networking adapter emulation (which is needed for XLink Kai offline multiplayer gaming over a LAN multiplayer games as well) only for Windows/Linux.
• Official Sony emulators: PlayStation 3's ps2_emu firmware supports network play.
• There are services for PlayStation 2 such as PlayStation Broadband Navigator and PlayOnline Viewer and downloadable content services for some of the titles such as Pop'n Music Puzzle-dama Online. See PlayStation 2 emulators#Hard Disk Drive for more information about these.

MAWK3: Most Active PlayStation 2 Online Games in 2023, How to Connect and Play Online on PlayStation 2 in 2023

For more information about other revive projects see Preservation projects page.

Broadband Adapter (Gamecube)

This shouldn't be confused with netplay, which synchronizes emulation over an internet connection.

This add-on allowed the console to use LAN technology over ethernet. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! used it to play on a local network with up to eight other GameCubes, while Phantasy Star Online took it a step further to allow an internet connection for Sega's now-offline official game servers. Kirby Air Ride and 1080° Avalanche also support this adapter. This feature was unavailable on the Wii despite having 802.11 b/g connectivity built-in and an official USB LAN adapter.

It's possible to hook up zero or more of each of these configurations on one networked game:

• A real GameCube with a real BBA (naturally)
• A soft modded Wii or Wii U with Nintendont, which can emulate the BBA for games that support it
• A recent version of Dolphin (beta or dev builds) which can emulate the BBA for connection to private game servers as well as using LAN tunneling.
  • Dolphin: Gamecube XLink BBA Tutorial (LAN tunneling)
  • Dolphin wiki contains up-to-date instructions on setting up for Online Play via DNS revive server (e.g. Schthack PSO), see this page for games that use broadband adapter either for Online Play or LAN tunneling.
  • See Preservation projects page for more information about other revive projects.

XBAND Modem (Multi Platform)

The XBAND was the very first console modem to allow online multiplayer using a dial-up connection. It was released on the SNES for a range of games in the mid-nineties - as well as the Genesis and Saturn.

SNES XBAND Modem compatible games list

Prodigy (Multi Platform)

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GEnie (Multi Platform)

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Compunet (Multi Platform)

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CompuServe (Multi Platform)

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Game.com Online

Service \ Device	Description
Internet Cartridge with Modem	Placeholder Text
Web Link cartridge	Placeholder Text

PC Services

Service \ Device	Description
GameSpy	Placeholder Text
RealArcade	Placeholder Text
Total Entertainment Network	Placeholder Text
Wireplay	Placeholder Text
World Opponent Network	Placeholder Text
GameRanger	Placeholder Text

See also

• Preservation projects
• Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection
• Nintendo Switch Online
• PlayStation Network
• Xbox network