XB∀NDPi NOOBS Image

Early online networking support during
the 4th video game console generation (16-bit)

Prior to the development and release of the almighty Sega Dreamcast in 1999, home video game consoles were not shipped with online connectivity (neither dial-up 56k modems or broadband Ethernet jacks) out-of-the-box. Despite this, however, some of the prior retro video game consoles did have 1st or 3rd-party modem adapter or network cartridges available for online web browsing and head-to-head online gameplay. These did not ship with the console, and were add-ons. Furthermore, their services were quite rudimentary and elementary compare to today's online game stores, services, web browsing, and online gameplay as seen on the modern day Sony PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Xbox One, and such.

Examples of early attempts at online connectivity and services with 56k dial-up modems include:

Sega Genesis
- XB∀ND
  - Cartridge with dial-up 56k modem and game cartridge adapter on
  - Online gameplay social service similar to Microsoft Xbox Live
    - Patches select game cartridge with online connectivity for head-to-head play
    - Player profiles and information
    - Servers for matchmaking lobbies
    - Friend list
    - XBand News (Bandwidth) and service announcements
    - Leaderboards
  - 3rd-party adapter by Catapult and THQ
- Sega Channel
  - Online game and news downloading service
  - 1st party service by Sega et. al.
- Sega Mega Modem
  - Limited online gameplay, some online services for specific titles
  - 1st party service by Sega

Super Nintendo/Super Famicom
- BS-X Satellaview
  - Broadcast Satellite (BS) receiver for game downloads, magazines, service update news on BS-X service
  - 1st-party console add-on by Nintendo (for Super Famicom only)
- NTT Data Modem
  - Dial-up 56k modem for Super Famicom only
  - Works only with JRA PAT game for horse racing betting
  - Comes with special NTT Data Pad controller
  - 3rd-party adapter by NTT Data Corp (?)
- XB∀ND
  - Same modem and functionality as Genesis XBand modem, but for the SNES
  - 3rd-party adapter by Catapult and THQ

Background information about
XBand modem adapter/service

XB∀ND was one of the earliest attempts at online network gameplay between video gaming consoles (via dial-up 56k modems). It was designed in 1994 and provided online networking support for the 4th video game generation (16-bit) for both the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo/Super Famicom. XBand was revolutionary and awesome for its time. XBand accounts were created over the phone with a service fee. Credits were bought and used for each connection to the XBand service. Both modems have similar functionality and networking services.

The Sega Genesis and SNES/SFC XBand modems were 3rd-party dial-up 56k modems which provided some basic online networking services and online gameplay. It was developed by Catapult Software and distributed by THQ and others. The Sega Genesis version, although 3rd-party, was officially licensed and endorsed by Sega. The modems included two RJ11 dial-up internet phone jacks; one for the phone connection from the ISP, the other to goto a dedicated landline phone (for call waiting functionality). They include a slot for a card reader (meant for setting up an XBand account/service credits) and a cartridge adapter slot on top. The cartridge adapter will detect applicable game cartridges and patch it's ROM to support XBand network gaming over dial-up.

The XB∀ND service provides:

Online messaging
- Sending/receiving XMail message between users (similar to email)
- Chatting between opponents in between a network gaming session
News services
- Gaming industry news (Bandwidth newsletter)
- XBand service news
Friends list with players you like
Creating an XBand account/profile
- Codename (XBand account nickname)
- Profile picture
- Taunt
- Location
- About me page
Leaderboard for XBand games with top players for inserted game
Playing applicable XBand games online

XB∀ND supported the following games:

Key: *=Japanese Famicom only, @=Special chip-enhanced Super Nintendo game (see note), #=First party XBand support

Sega Genesis
- Madden NFL '95
- Madden NFL '96
- Mortal Kombat
- Mortal Kombat II
- Mortal Kombat 3
- NBA Jam
- NBA Live 95
- NBA Live 96
- NHL '94
- NHL '95
- NHL '96
- Primal Rage
- Super Street Fighter II
- #Weaponlord

Super Nintendo/Super Famicom
- @Doom (SuperFX 2 chip)
- Ken Griffey, Jr. Presents Major League Baseball
- Killer Instinct
- Kirby's Avalanche
- Madden NFL '95
- Madden NFL '96
- Mortal Kombat II
- Mortal Kombat 3
- NBA Jam Tournament Edition
- NHL '95
- NHL '96
- *Panel de Pon
- *Puyo Puyo 2 Remix
- *Super Famista 5
- *Super Fire Pro Wrestling X
- @Super Mario Kart (DSP-1 chip)
- Super Street Fighter II
- #Weaponlord

Full details about the XBand service and adapters on their respective articles on Wikipedia, SegaRetro (Genesis), and SNES Central (SNES).

Unfortunately, the online XBand service was made obsolete/discontinued on April 30, 1997. RIP!

Enter XB∀NDPi

Despite the XB∀ND service being discontinued in April 30, 1997, various sceners within the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo/Super Famicom retro gaming communities have created a replacement, homebrew XBand server. This endeavor was done partially with the original source code given out from ex-Catapult engineers, from reverse engineering, and from dumping game ROM patches stored on old XBand modem cartridges.

As of the time of this writing (January 2023), the XBand replacement servers supports the following features, connections methods, and games. Please see the Retrocomputing.Network XBAND Server webpage for latest details and instructions.

XB∀ND Setup methods:

Supported XBand Features:

X-Mail (cross-platform on Gen/SNES supported, not yet supported on SFC)
BANDWIDTH
XBAND News
Player Lists (cross-platform on Gen/SNES supported)
Gameplay (SNES/SFC only, see below)

Gameplay Specifics:

Gameplay is only supported on SNES/SFC
Very laggy (see video)
Gameplay requires you use the VoIP/Landline connection methods
Can only match with players who use the same connection method as you.
Gameplay on Genesis may work via a real landline, but this has not yet been tested. Gameplay on Genesis should be considered impossible at this point.

Supported Games for Gameplay:

SNES/SFC: Doom (US)
SNES/SFC: Super Mario Kart (US)
SNES/SFC: Super Street Fighter 2 (Japan)

XB∀NDPi NOOBS Image

For the Raspberry Pi connection method, XB∀NDPi is a modified DreamPi distro image for utilizing a DreamPi machine to get a Sega Genesis or Super Nintendo/Super Famicom online. As of the time of this writing (January 2023), this modified image unfortunately only allows for XBand usage; Sega Saturn Netlink and Dreamcast dial-up/BBA support gets disabled during the conversion process. It also does not support networked gameplay services; please use a real dial-up landline or VoIP Adapter (Linksys SPA1001) for that.

The XB∀NDPi NOOBS Image is a pre-compiled XBandPi image meant for NOOBS/PINN bootloader. Full details about these type of NOOBS/PINN images at the DreamPi NOOBS Image page. It has two images; one compiled for older Raspberry Pi (before RPi4), and another for newer ones (RPi4 and newer). The distro image even has a fancy slideshow with very informative information about the XBand services and XBandPi image!

The image can either be installed manually (from an SD card/USB stick within the PINN bootloader) or from the Tamkis NOOBS Repo server online within PINN.

Just add the line
alt_image_source to http://raw.githubusercontent.com/Tamk1s/Tamkis_NOOBS_Repo/main/os_list_v3.json

to your recovery.cmdline file at the root of your NOOBS/PINN installation!