Sega Saturn NetLink, 1996

http://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/155825640800/dandyads-sega-saturn-netlink-1996

Today it is taken for granted that modern game systems can be used to access the internet and play games with people from all over the world. This was not always the case. It is true that various modems and networking peripherals have been available for game systems going back a long time but they were always an add-on device, typically expensive, and not that well supported. This is more or less true for the Sega NetLink for the Sega Saturn.

The NetLink was essentially just a 28.8kbps modem with a web browser and a little bit of memory. It cost $199 when it was released in 1996 which was about double the price of an equivalent computer modem. You could basically use it for one of two things. 1) You could use it to dial up your internet provider and surf the web, check e-mail or chat or 2) you could use it to dial up a friend directly in order to play a game for games that supported the device.

The problem was there were only five games with NetLink Support:

Daytona USA CCE Net Link Edition
Duke Nukem 3D
Saturn Bomberman
Sega Rally
Virtual On

I guess if you had a Saturn and REALLY wanted to play these games with a remote opponent and didn’t have a computer with which to access the internet then maybe it was worth it. But in 1996, a computer was far superior for these sorts of things. I was still using my 486 DX2/66 at the time which was a few years old by then but for online experience, the Saturn couldn’t touch it.