<s>
Sega	B-Application
Net	I-Application
Link	I-Application
(	O
also	O
called	O
Sega	B-Application
Saturn	I-Application
Net	I-Application
Link	I-Application
)	O
is	O
an	O
attachment	O
for	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
game	O
console	O
to	O
provide	O
Saturn	B-Device
users	O
with	O
internet	O
access	O
and	O
access	O
to	O
email	O
through	O
their	O
console	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Sega	B-Application
Net	I-Application
Link	I-Application
fit	O
into	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
cartridge	O
port	O
and	O
consisted	O
of	O
a	O
28.8	O
kbit/s	O
modem	B-Application
,	O
a	O
custom	O
chip	O
to	O
allow	O
it	O
to	O
interface	O
with	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
,	O
and	O
a	O
browser	O
developed	O
by	O
Planetweb	O
,	O
Inc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
unit	O
sold	O
for	O
US$199	O
,	O
or	O
US$400	O
bundled	O
with	O
a	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1997	O
Sega	O
began	O
selling	O
the	O
NetLink	B-Application
Bundle	O
,	O
which	O
included	O
the	O
standard	O
NetLink	B-Application
plus	O
the	O
compatible	O
games	O
Sega	B-Application
Rally	I-Application
Championship	I-Application
and	O
Virtual	B-Application
On	I-Application
:	I-Application
Cyber	I-Application
Troopers	I-Application
NetLink	I-Application
Edition	I-Application
,	O
for	O
$99	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
other	O
online	O
gaming	O
services	O
in	O
the	O
US	O
,	O
one	O
does	O
not	O
connect	O
to	O
a	O
central	O
service	O
,	O
but	O
instead	O
tells	O
the	O
dial-up	B-Application
modem	I-Application
connected	O
to	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
's	O
cartridge	O
slot	O
to	O
call	O
to	O
the	O
person	O
with	O
whom	O
one	O
wishes	O
to	O
play	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Japan	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
gamers	O
did	O
connect	O
through	O
a	O
centralized	O
service	O
known	O
as	O
SegaNet	O
,	O
which	O
would	O
later	O
be	O
taken	O
offline	O
and	O
converted	O
for	O
Dreamcast	B-Operating_System
usage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Yutaka	O
Yamamoto	O
,	O
Sega	O
of	O
America	O
's	O
director	O
of	O
new	O
technology	O
,	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
's	O
design	O
allowed	O
it	O
to	O
access	O
the	O
internet	O
purely	O
through	O
software	O
:	O
"	O
Sega	O
engineers	O
always	O
felt	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
would	O
be	O
good	O
for	O
multimedia	O
applications	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
game	O
playing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
So	O
they	O
developed	O
a	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
in	O
the	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
to	O
support	O
communications	O
tasks.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
Net	O
Link	O
was	O
not	O
the	O
first	O
accessory	O
which	O
allowed	O
console	O
gamers	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
to	O
play	O
video	O
games	O
online	O
(	O
see	O
online	B-Application
console	I-Application
gaming	I-Application
)	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
first	O
to	O
allow	O
players	O
to	O
use	O
their	O
own	O
Internet	O
Service	O
Provider	O
(	O
ISP	O
)	O
to	O
connect	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
Sega	O
recommended	O
that	O
players	O
use	O
Concentric	B-Application
,	O
the	O
Sega	B-Application
Net	I-Application
Link	I-Application
enabled	O
players	O
to	O
choose	O
any	O
ISP	O
that	O
was	O
within	O
its	O
technical	O
specifications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
it	O
suffered	O
from	O
memory	O
limitations	O
;	O
the	O
modem	B-Application
's	O
static	B-Architecture
RAM	I-Architecture
could	O
store	O
only	O
account	O
information	O
and	O
bookmarks	O
,	O
leaving	O
only	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
's	O
limited	O
internal	O
RAM	O
for	O
any	O
downloaded	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Saturn	B-Device
had	O
a	O
floppy	O
drive	O
and	O
printer	O
cable	O
converter	O
(	O
both	O
Japan	O
only	O
)	O
which	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
with	O
the	O
Net	O
Link	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sega	O
also	O
released	O
a	O
dedicated	O
Saturn	B-Device
mouse	O
and	O
Saturn	B-Device
keyboard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
to	O
allow	O
users	O
to	O
browse	O
with	O
just	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
joypad	O
,	O
Sega	O
produced	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
CDs	O
containing	O
hundreds	O
of	O
website	O
addresses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Planetweb	O
browser	O
was	O
written	O
in	O
C	B-Language
,	O
and	O
runs	O
on	O
just	O
570	O
KB	O
,	O
whereas	O
a	O
typical	O
PC	O
browser	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
used	O
up	O
about	O
6	O
MB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
time	O
most	O
television	O
screens	O
ran	O
at	O
a	O
lower	O
resolution	O
than	O
computer	O
monitors	O
,	O
so	O
the	O
browser	O
used	O
anti-aliasing	B-Algorithm
to	O
smooth	O
out	O
the	O
edges	O
of	O
onscreen	O
text	O
characters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
browser	O
could	O
not	O
properly	O
display	O
web	O
sites	O
which	O
use	O
frames	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Five	O
games	O
were	O
released	O
that	O
supported	O
the	O
NetLink	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
five	O
were	O
released	O
in	O
late	O
1997	O
,	O
nearly	O
a	O
year	O
after	O
the	O
NetLink	B-Application
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
could	O
search	O
for	O
other	O
players	O
either	O
on	O
the	O
Internet	O
or	O
using	O
the	O
XBAND	B-Application
matchmaking	O
system	O
,	O
then	O
connect	O
peer-to-peer	O
via	O
modem	B-Application
,	O
or	O
alternatively	O
,	O
use	O
two	O
NetLinks	B-Application
to	O
connect	O
two	O
Saturns	B-Device
and	O
two	O
televisions	O
set	O
up	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
room	O
(	O
thus	O
eliminating	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
a	O
phone	O
line	O
and	O
essentially	O
using	O
the	O
NetLink	B-Application
to	O
emulate	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
Link	O
Cable	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
a	O
runner-up	O
for	O
Electronic	O
Gaming	O
Monthlys	O
Best	O
Peripheral	O
of	O
1996	O
(	O
behind	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
analog	O
controller	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
media	O
excitement	O
over	O
the	O
device	O
and	O
its	O
prominent	O
appearance	O
in	O
Sega	O
's	O
marketing	O
campaign	O
,	O
less	O
than	O
1%	O
of	O
Saturn	B-Device
owners	O
purchased	O
the	O
NetLink	B-Application
in	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Over	O
its	O
lifetime	O
,	O
an	O
estimated	O
50,000	O
NetLink	B-Application
units	O
were	O
sold	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
,	O
half	O
of	O
Sega	O
's	O
original	O
goal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
,	O
fans	O
were	O
able	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
NetLink	B-Application
work	O
a	O
modern	O
highspeed	O
connection	O
with	O
VoIP	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Net	O
Link	O
Zone	O
connected	O
to	O
an	O
Internet	B-Protocol
Relay	I-Protocol
Chat	I-Protocol
(	O
IRC	B-Protocol
)	O
server	O
irc.sega.com	O
which	O
was	O
changed	O
to	O
the	O
server	O
irc0.dreamcast.com	O
on	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Sega	O
's	O
Dreamcast	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
SegaNet	O
was	O
launched	O
in	O
2000	O
for	O
the	B-Operating_System
Dreamcast	I-Operating_System
,	O
carrying	O
the	O
same	O
name	O
in	O
Japan	O
.	O
</s>
