<s>
Sega	B-Application
Meganet	I-Application
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
Net	B-Application
Work	I-Application
System	I-Application
,	O
was	O
an	O
online	O
service	O
for	O
the	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
in	O
Japan	O
and	O
later	O
Brazil	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Utilizing	O
dial-up	O
Internet	O
access	O
,	O
Meganet	B-Application
was	O
Sega	O
's	O
first	O
online	O
multiplayer	O
gaming	O
service	O
,	O
and	O
functioned	O
on	O
a	O
pay	O
to	O
play	O
basis	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
system	O
functioned	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
peripheral	O
called	O
the	O
Mega	B-Application
Modem	I-Application
and	O
offered	O
several	O
unique	O
titles	O
that	O
could	O
be	O
downloaded	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
few	O
could	O
be	O
played	O
competitively	O
with	O
friends	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
it	O
shared	O
technology	O
and	O
equipment	O
with	O
more	O
serious	O
services	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Mega	B-Application
Anser	I-Application
,	O
used	O
for	O
banking	O
purposes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ultimately	O
,	O
the	O
Meganet	B-Application
service	O
would	O
be	O
short-lived	O
,	O
lasting	O
approximately	O
a	O
year	O
before	O
it	O
was	O
discontinued	O
,	O
but	O
would	O
serve	O
as	O
a	O
precursor	O
to	O
the	O
Sega	B-Application
Channel	I-Application
and	O
XBAND	B-Application
services	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
predecessor	O
to	O
online	B-Application
gaming	I-Application
services	O
for	O
video	B-Application
game	I-Application
consoles	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Retrospective	O
feedback	O
praises	O
the	O
attempt	O
by	O
Sega	O
to	O
introduce	O
online	B-Application
gaming	I-Application
,	O
but	O
criticizes	O
the	O
service	O
for	O
its	O
logistical	O
issues	O
and	O
lack	O
of	O
titles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sega	O
's	O
16-bit	B-Application
console	I-Application
,	O
the	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
was	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
on	O
October	O
29	O
,	O
1988	O
,	O
though	O
the	O
launch	O
was	O
overshadowed	O
by	O
Nintendo	O
's	O
release	O
of	O
Super	B-Application
Mario	I-Application
Bros	I-Application
.	I-Application
3	I-Application
a	O
week	O
earlier	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
draw	O
a	O
larger	O
audience	O
,	O
Sega	O
began	O
work	O
on	O
an	O
Internet	O
service	O
,	O
similar	O
to	O
what	O
Nintendo	O
had	O
attempted	O
with	O
the	O
Famicom	B-Device
Modem	I-Device
for	O
the	O
NES	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Released	O
in	O
Japan	O
on	O
November	O
3	O
,	O
1990	O
,	O
at	O
a	O
cost	O
of	O
JP¥	O
12,800	O
(	O
approximately	O
US$100	O
)	O
for	O
the	O
equipment	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
an	O
additional	O
¥800	O
monthly	O
,	O
access	O
began	O
to	O
the	O
Meganet	B-Application
service	O
by	O
way	O
of	O
the	O
Mega	B-Application
Modem	I-Application
,	O
a	O
peripheral	O
which	O
attaches	O
to	O
the	O
rear	O
EXT	O
9-pin	O
port	O
on	O
the	O
rear	O
of	O
the	O
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Mega	B-Application
Modem	I-Application
also	O
came	O
packaged	O
with	O
a	O
cartridge	O
which	O
allowed	O
for	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
Meganet	B-Application
game	O
library	O
,	O
and	O
approximately	O
six	O
titles	O
were	O
available	O
at	O
launch	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
another	O
way	O
of	O
attempting	O
to	O
expand	O
the	O
audience	O
for	O
the	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
in	O
Japan	O
,	O
Sega	O
introduced	O
the	O
Mega	B-Application
Anser	I-Application
,	O
a	O
system	O
designed	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
Nagoya	O
Bank	O
in	O
Japan	O
,	O
in	O
1990	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Packaged	O
as	O
an	O
all-in-one	O
system	O
including	O
a	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
,	O
Mega	B-Application
Modem	I-Application
,	O
Mega	B-Application
Anser	I-Application
cartridge	O
and	O
keypad	O
,	O
the	O
system	O
allowed	O
for	O
transactions	O
such	O
as	O
balance	O
inquiries	O
,	O
transfers	O
,	O
and	O
loan	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
the	O
system	O
's	O
low	O
number	O
of	O
titles	O
,	O
prohibitively	O
high	O
price	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
's	O
lack	O
of	O
success	O
in	O
Japan	O
,	O
the	O
Meganet	B-Application
system	O
proved	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
commercial	O
failure	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
1992	O
,	O
the	O
Mega	B-Application
Modem	I-Application
peripheral	O
could	O
be	O
found	O
in	O
bargain	O
bins	O
at	O
a	O
reduced	O
price	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
remodeled	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
released	O
in	O
1993	O
removed	O
the	O
EXT	O
9-pin	O
port	O
altogether	O
,	O
preventing	O
the	O
newer	O
model	O
from	O
being	O
connected	O
to	O
the	O
Meganet	B-Application
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1995	O
,	O
the	O
Meganet	B-Application
internet	O
service	O
launched	O
in	O
Brazil	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
to	O
the	O
Mega	B-Application
Anser	I-Application
,	O
a	O
home	O
banking	O
product	O
was	O
also	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
region	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Meganet	B-Application
hardware	O
and	O
services	O
were	O
provided	O
through	O
Sega	O
's	O
distributor	O
in	O
the	O
region	O
,	O
Tectoy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Meganet	B-Application
service	O
utilized	O
its	O
own	O
library	O
of	O
titles	O
,	O
independent	O
of	O
the	O
Genesis	O
library	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
of	O
these	O
games	O
never	O
received	O
a	O
cartridge	O
release	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
Columns	B-Application
,	O
Flicky	B-Application
,	O
Fatal	B-Device
Labyrinth	I-Device
,	O
and	O
Teddy	B-Application
Boy	I-Application
Blues	I-Application
each	O
later	O
saw	O
cartridge	O
versions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
Meganet	B-Application
games	O
would	O
also	O
later	O
appear	O
in	O
the	O
Game	O
no	O
Kanzume	O
series	O
,	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
Mega-CD	B-Device
exclusively	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
of	O
the	O
Meganet	B-Application
games	O
were	O
available	O
through	O
the	O
Sega	O
Game	O
Library	O
,	O
accessed	O
through	O
the	O
Meganet	B-Application
modem	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
issues	O
with	O
long-distance	O
charges	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
telephone	O
lines	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
seconds	O
of	O
lag	O
time	O
between	O
commands	O
,	O
only	O
two	O
games	O
featured	O
competitive	O
play	O
:	O
Tel-Tel	B-Application
Stadium	I-Application
and	O
Tel-Tel	B-Application
Mahjong	I-Application
,	O
with	O
the	O
remainder	O
of	O
the	O
games	O
available	O
for	O
single	O
players	O
via	O
download	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
Sega	O
's	O
reluctance	O
to	O
commit	O
to	O
releasing	O
the	O
service	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
,	O
third-party	O
developers	O
in	O
that	O
region	O
were	O
unwilling	O
to	O
invest	O
in	O
developing	O
games	O
specifically	O
for	O
Meganet	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
+List	O
of	O
Meganet	B-Application
gamesTitleGenre16tActionAworg	O
:	O
Hero	O
In	O
The	O
SkyActionColumnsPuzzleFatal	O
LabyrinthRPGFlickyActionForbidden	O
CityPuzzleHyper	O
MarblesActionIkazuse	O
!	O
</s>
<s>
Retrospective	O
feedback	O
on	O
the	O
Sega	B-Application
Meganet	I-Application
service	O
is	O
mixed	O
,	O
praising	O
the	O
early	O
initiative	O
to	O
develop	O
online	B-Application
gaming	I-Application
for	O
video	O
consoles	O
,	O
but	O
criticizing	O
its	O
implementation	O
via	O
use	O
of	O
telephone	O
lines	O
and	O
issues	O
with	O
Sega	O
's	O
lack	O
of	O
developers	O
for	O
the	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Adam	O
Redsell	O
of	O
IGN	O
commented	O
on	O
the	O
basic	O
features	O
of	O
the	O
service	O
,	O
and	O
despite	O
noting	O
that	O
Meganet	B-Application
received	O
only	O
a	O
few	O
games	O
,	O
stated	O
"[T]hat's	O
pretty	O
damn	O
impressive	O
for	O
1990	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
also	O
notes	O
the	O
influence	O
of	O
Sega	O
in	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
online	B-Application
gaming	I-Application
,	O
with	O
the	O
Meganet	B-Application
service	O
as	O
their	O
first	O
attempt	O
,	O
and	O
credits	O
the	O
Meganet	B-Application
's	O
successor	O
,	O
Sega	B-Application
Channel	I-Application
,	O
with	O
helping	O
to	O
spread	O
broadband	B-General_Concept
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
telephone	O
line	O
network	O
which	O
the	O
Meganet	B-Application
ran	O
on	O
has	O
been	O
criticized	O
for	O
its	O
logistical	O
issues	O
in	O
online	B-Application
gaming	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
same	O
issues	O
that	O
plagued	O
the	O
Meganet	B-Application
over	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
phone	O
lines	O
for	O
Internet	O
connectivity	O
would	O
later	O
resurface	O
when	O
Catapult	O
Entertainment	O
launched	O
the	O
XBAND	B-Application
service	O
in	O
1994	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Horowitz	O
went	O
on	O
to	O
criticize	O
this	O
issue	O
as	O
a	O
problem	O
Sega	O
would	O
have	O
again	O
with	O
the	O
32X	B-Device
in	O
1994	O
,	O
stating	O
,	O
"	O
History	O
would	O
repeat	O
itself	O
in	O
the	O
harshest	O
of	O
manners	O
only	O
five	O
years	O
later	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Former	O
Sega	O
console	O
hardware	O
research	O
and	O
development	O
head	O
Hideki	O
Sato	O
stated	O
that	O
Sega	O
made	O
very	O
little	O
money	O
on	O
sales	O
of	O
the	O
Mega	B-Application
Modem	I-Application
,	O
but	O
that	O
Sega	O
learned	O
from	O
the	O
experience	O
to	O
develop	O
future	O
network	O
opportunities	O
for	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
.	O
</s>
