<s>
XBAND	B-Application
(	O
stylized	O
as	O
XBⱯND	O
)	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
competitive	O
online	B-Application
console	I-Application
gaming	I-Application
networks	O
and	O
was	O
available	O
for	O
the	O
Genesis	B-Operating_System
and	O
Super	B-Application
NES	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Genesis	B-Operating_System
version	O
of	O
the	O
XBAND	B-Application
was	O
released	O
in	O
November	O
1994	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
Super	B-Application
NES	I-Application
version	O
following	O
in	O
June	O
1995	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Super	B-Application
Famicom	I-Application
version	O
in	O
April	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Genesis	B-Operating_System
version	O
also	O
works	O
with	O
the	O
Genesis	B-Device
Nomad	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Brazil	O
the	O
Mega	B-Operating_System
Drive	I-Operating_System
service	O
was	O
released	O
as	O
the	O
Mega	O
Net	O
2	O
,	O
named	O
after	O
the	O
Sega	B-Application
Meganet	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1995	O
,	O
Catapult	O
Entertainment	O
signed	O
a	O
deal	O
with	O
General	O
Instrument	O
,	O
producers	O
of	O
the	O
Sega	B-Application
Channel	I-Application
,	O
which	O
stipulated	O
that	O
the	O
XBAND	B-Application
modem	O
would	O
henceforth	O
be	O
built	O
into	O
new	O
Sega	B-Application
Channel	I-Application
adapters	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
the	O
top	O
5	O
to	O
10	O
games	O
offered	O
by	O
Sega	B-Application
Channel	I-Application
each	O
month	O
would	O
be	O
playable	O
over	O
XBAND	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
January	O
1997	O
,	O
XBAND	B-Application
network	O
playability	O
had	O
reached	O
practically	O
every	O
metropolitan	O
area	O
and	O
several	O
rural	O
areas	O
in	O
the	O
U.S.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
actual	O
XBAND	B-Application
modems	O
were	O
carried	O
by	O
a	O
few	O
software	O
and	O
video	O
rental	O
chains	O
across	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Internationally	O
,	O
the	O
XBAND	B-Application
had	O
some	O
limited	O
growth	O
in	O
the	O
Japanese	O
market	O
,	O
and	O
Catapult	O
was	O
working	O
on	O
PC	O
and	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
support	O
,	O
though	O
it	O
merged	O
with	O
Mpath	O
Interactive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
focus	O
shifted	O
to	O
the	O
online	O
PC	O
gaming	O
service	O
Mplayer.com	O
which	O
was	O
taken	O
offline	O
and	O
integrated	O
into	O
GameSpy	B-Protocol
Arcade	I-Protocol
in	O
2001	O
,	O
after	O
being	O
acquired	O
by	O
GameSpy	O
on	O
December	O
2000	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
XBAND	B-Application
modem	O
was	O
widely	O
available	O
at	O
Blockbuster	O
Video	O
for	O
,	O
with	O
additional	O
charges	O
based	O
on	O
usage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Activities	O
that	O
consumed	O
a	O
player	O
's	O
monthly	O
allowance	O
of	O
connections	O
included	O
dialing	O
into	O
the	O
XBAND	B-Application
service	O
for	O
matchmaking	O
,	O
downloading	O
mail	O
(	O
called	O
"	O
XMAIL	O
"	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
downloading	O
the	O
daily	O
edition	O
of	O
the	O
two	O
XBAND	B-Application
newsletters	O
,	O
one	O
containing	O
generic	O
news	O
and	O
the	O
other	O
containing	O
platform-specific	O
information	O
such	O
as	O
leaderboards	O
and	O
contest	O
announcements	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Text	O
entry	O
is	O
done	O
either	O
through	O
an	O
on-screen	B-Device
keyboard	I-Device
or	O
an	O
optional	O
XBAND	B-Application
keyboard	O
add-on	O
(	O
$29.95	O
MSRP	O
)	O
released	O
later	O
in	O
the	O
network	O
's	O
lifespan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
client-side	O
system	O
worked	O
by	O
manipulating	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
memory	O
in	O
a	O
way	O
similar	O
to	O
Game	B-Device
Genie	I-Device
and	O
third-party	O
computer	O
game	O
modifications	O
such	O
as	O
Multi	B-Language
Theft	I-Language
Auto	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
XBand	B-Application
operating	O
system	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
ensure	O
that	O
connections	O
are	O
not	O
lost	O
due	O
to	O
phone	O
activity	O
;	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
call	O
waiting	O
,	O
the	O
system	O
would	O
alert	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
the	O
call	O
and	O
allow	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
be	O
resumed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
XBAND	B-Application
had	O
an	O
official	O
website	O
to	O
check	O
other	O
players	O
 '	O
statistics	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
other	O
information	O
and	O
updates	O
that	O
were	O
not	O
viewable	O
on	O
consoles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
its	O
height	O
,	O
XBAND	B-Application
had	O
15,000	O
subscribers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
1995	O
article	O
in	O
Next	O
Generation	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
XBAND	B-Application
modem	O
's	O
"	O
ultra-low	O
latency	O
is	O
the	O
key	O
to	O
its	O
successful	O
handling	O
of	O
realtime	O
videogaming	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
modem	O
's	O
data	O
transfer	O
rate	O
is	O
2,400	O
bits	O
per	O
second	O
,	O
which	O
,	O
though	O
low	O
compared	O
to	O
PC	O
modems	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
was	O
sufficient	O
to	O
handle	O
the	O
simple	O
one-on-one	O
games	O
for	O
XBAND	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
network	O
matched	O
two	O
players	O
up	O
,	O
the	O
newly-connected	O
player	O
's	O
XBAND	B-Application
modem	O
would	O
disconnect	O
from	O
the	O
server	O
and	O
dial	O
the	O
other	O
player	O
,	O
whose	O
own	O
XBAND	B-Application
modem	O
would	O
answer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
that	O
point	O
,	O
the	O
players	O
saw	O
the	O
XBAND	B-Application
logo	O
slide	O
together	O
,	O
followed	O
by	O
the	O
matchup	O
screen	O
,	O
which	O
displayed	O
each	O
player	O
's	O
codenames	O
,	O
avatars	O
,	O
locations	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
pre-typed	O
"	O
taunt	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
December	O
1995	O
,	O
XBAND	B-Application
launched	O
its	O
first	O
national	O
tournament	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
grand	O
prize	O
winner	O
received	O
a	O
special	O
Genghis	B-Application
Khan	I-Application
icon	O
for	O
their	O
XBAND	B-Application
profile	O
and	O
a	O
$200	O
cash	O
prize	O
from	O
Catapult	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
last	O
few	O
months	O
of	O
service	O
,	O
several	O
users	O
discovered	O
a	O
way	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
Game	B-Device
Genie	I-Device
to	O
hack	O
the	O
icons	O
of	O
XBAND	B-Application
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
enabled	O
players	O
to	O
use	O
icons	O
that	O
were	O
otherwise	O
restricted	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
unreleased	O
icons	O
or	O
icons	O
reserved	O
for	O
matches	O
between	O
XBAND	B-Application
team	O
members	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rumors	O
about	O
XBAND	B-Application
icon	O
hackers	O
often	O
claimed	O
they	O
were	O
part	O
of	O
elite	O
hacking	O
organizations	O
or	O
members	O
of	O
Catapult	O
Entertainment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
April	O
30	O
,	O
1997	O
,	O
the	O
entire	O
network	O
was	O
discontinued	O
,	O
with	O
Mpath	O
citing	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
new	O
games	O
for	O
the	O
Genesis	B-Operating_System
and	O
Super	B-Application
NES	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
XBAND	B-Application
had	O
announced	O
in	O
its	O
previous	O
monthly	O
newsletter	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
shutting	O
down	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Next	O
Generation	O
,	O
XBAND	B-Application
"	O
never	O
turned	O
a	O
significant	O
profit	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
XBAND	B-Application
's	O
existence	O
,	O
only	O
a	O
handful	O
of	O
advertisements	O
were	O
ever	O
made	O
,	O
and	O
only	O
one	O
game	O
,	O
Weaponlord	B-Application
,	O
has	O
the	O
XBAND	B-Application
logo	O
on	O
its	O
box	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
XBAND	B-Application
stated	O
in	O
its	O
newsletter	O
that	O
players	O
were	O
their	O
best	O
form	O
of	O
advertising	O
,	O
and	O
offered	O
the	O
"	O
XBAND	B-Application
6	O
pack	O
"	O
,	O
where	O
members	O
could	O
order	O
six	O
modems	O
at	O
a	O
discounted	O
rate	O
and	O
receive	O
a	O
month	O
of	O
free	O
gaming	O
in	O
exchange	O
for	O
signing	O
up	O
a	O
certain	O
number	O
of	O
people	O
to	O
the	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Heavy	O
contributors	O
to	O
XBAND	B-Application
's	O
demise	O
were	O
the	O
lack	O
of	O
support	O
from	O
game	O
developers	O
and	O
limited	O
internal	O
resources	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
exception	O
of	O
Weaponlord	B-Application
,	O
Catapult	O
had	O
to	O
individually	O
reverse	O
engineer	O
each	O
game	O
's	O
code	O
,	O
then	O
develop	O
a	O
hack	O
to	O
intercept	O
two-player	O
activity	O
so	O
the	O
game	O
could	O
be	O
shared	O
over	O
a	O
low-latency	O
(	O
fast	O
response	O
time	O
)	O
,	O
2,400	O
-bps	O
modem	O
connection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
XBAND	B-Application
was	O
launched	O
in	O
Japan	O
on	O
April	O
1	O
,	O
1996	O
for	O
the	O
Sega	B-Device
Saturn	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
SNES/Super	O
Famicom	O
and	O
Genesis	B-Operating_System
versions	O
of	O
XBAND	B-Application
,	O
it	O
did	O
not	O
require	O
an	O
XBAND-specific	O
modem	O
,	O
instead	O
utilizing	O
Sega	O
's	O
own	O
Sega	B-Application
NetLink	I-Application
device	O
(	O
which	O
included	O
a	O
14,400	O
bps	O
modem	O
in	O
Japan	O
and	O
a	O
28,800	O
bps	O
modem	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Neither	O
the	O
Saturn	B-Device
XBAND	B-Application
nor	O
an	O
expansion	O
into	O
the	O
PC	O
market	O
succeeded	O
,	O
because	O
developers	O
frequently	O
opted	O
to	O
include	O
their	O
own	O
network	O
linking	O
rather	O
than	O
deal	O
with	O
Catapult	O
's	O
subscription-based	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
major	O
issue	O
for	O
the	O
XBAND	B-Application
service	O
was	O
free	O
long-distance	O
phone	O
calls	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
discovered	O
that	O
a	O
user	O
could	O
record	O
the	O
tones	O
sent	O
from	O
an	O
XBAND	B-Application
modem	O
and	O
then	O
receive	O
the	O
long-distance	O
service	O
number	O
,	O
the	O
authentication	O
code	O
,	O
and	O
phone	O
number	O
of	O
the	O
player	O
you	O
were	O
connecting	O
to	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Paging	B-Application
company	O
SkyTel	O
faced	O
similar	O
problems	O
from	O
both	O
XBAND	B-Application
users	O
and	O
their	O
own	O
customers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
XBAND	B-Application
users	O
performed	O
brute-force	O
attacks	O
against	O
SkyTel	O
's	O
mobile	O
paging	B-Application
system	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
discover	O
voicemail	O
boxes	O
using	O
the	O
same	O
number	O
as	O
the	O
login	O
and	O
password	O
,	O
using	O
these	O
to	O
extend	O
their	O
communication	O
with	O
each	O
other	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
tactic	O
,	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
cord-pulling	O
"	O
among	O
XBAND	B-Application
users	O
,	O
prevented	O
the	O
XBAND	B-Application
service	O
from	O
crediting	O
either	O
player	O
with	O
the	O
win	O
or	O
loss	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
lacking	O
market	O
success	O
,	O
the	O
XBAND	B-Application
team	O
did	O
manage	O
some	O
publicity	O
gains	O
when	O
they	O
joined	O
forces	O
with	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
gaming	O
magazines	O
,	O
starting	O
on	O
the	O
web	O
with	O
Game	O
Zero	O
magazine	O
and	O
later	O
in	O
Tips	O
&	O
Tricks	O
Magazine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Daily	O
stats	O
were	O
accessible	O
via	O
XBAND	B-Application
News	O
on	O
the	O
modem	O
,	O
although	O
they	O
were	O
not	O
visible	O
to	O
the	O
general	O
public	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
games	O
have	O
been	O
analyzed	O
,	O
and	O
online	O
compatibility	O
provided	O
,	O
by	O
XBAND	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
hidden	O
maze	O
game	O
can	O
be	O
unlocked	O
in	O
the	O
SNES	B-Application
version	O
by	O
inserting	O
a	O
The	B-Application
Legend	I-Application
of	I-Application
Zelda	I-Application
:	I-Application
A	I-Application
Link	I-Application
to	I-Application
the	I-Application
Past	I-Application
cartridge	O
.	O
</s>
