[Barry Lightning]

does anyone have a picture of this? i'm talking pre-xband, etc

when i bought my genesis within the first 2 months of its american release, inside one of the pamphlets that came packaged with the unit was a picture of the sega genesis modem ("coming soon"). it looked like a rounded stapler or something. it was a sega-branded modem that was never released. internet searches have failed to produce a photo.

[DarienA]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...&category=3642

[Argyle]

I've always wondered how well Cyberball worked with that thing...

[Diablos]

Let's try going online with it today!

[choplifter]

for the U.S. it was called the TeleGenesis Modem





ever wonder what the 'EXT' port (1.) on the back of the original Genesis was for?
it was primarily for the Tele-Genesis Modem.
later modems for Genesis plugged into the cartridge slot.





another pic (the modem is to the left of the power base converter)


Japanese version





(wow I've never seen the port on the modem before, as you can see it would plug into that EXT port on the back of the MD-Genesis)




TeleGenesis Modem, Mega Modem, Tele-Modem are all basicly the same thing.
the Mega Modem / Tele-Modem is the Megadrive version for Japan.


Mega Modem with (i think) the case for the Sega Net cartridge
(a decade before Dreamcast SegaNet!)


the thing was only 1200 baud. slow even for its day when 2400-9600 Baud modems were around


partial list of Mega Modem games released on cartridge
(other games were downloaded over the network in Japan)

*Advanced Daisenryaku
*ShinKinJo
*Cyberball
*TEL-TEL Stadium / Tel-Tel Baseball Stadium / Tel-Tel Baseball
(EGM announced this as Tele-Genesis Baseball)
*TEL-TEL Mahjong


picture of TEL-TEL Baseball Stadium / Tele-Genesis Baseball


Tel-Tel Baseball Stadium back cover


EGM's 'Tele-Genesis Baseball' picture




MegaModem compatible Advanced Daisenryaku - back cover

[Reilly]

the genesis still looks sexy.

[railGUN]

I'm guessing this and the "Sega Channel" were totally seperate things, but how did the "Sega Channel" work with the Genesis? I don't remember much about it, just that my best friends cousin had won a free month of it, and he was able to download games and such... It's been a long time so my details are sketchy, but what did the "Sega Channel" do, and how did it work (especially without HDD's and memory cards and the likes)...

[Gio_CoD]

On a semi-related note, GAF never fails to amaze me. You can ask a question about the most obscure shit imaginable here, and within three replies you'll have pictures, EGM ads, a roster of announced games, price information, sales figures, and an in-depth review of the item from the one guy that actually bought it. Astounding.

[Danj]

While we're on the subject of modems for old(er) consoles, I remember seeing a page a while back which had the plans (component list, circuit diagram etc.) for building a line simulator which you could use with a PC with a modem to hook up your Dreamcast if you didn't have the extremely-rare Broadband Adapter. Does anyone know where that page is and if it's still around? Failing that, what's the easiest way to hook up a Dreamcast to an existing broadband connection without having to pay big bucks on eBay?

[choplifter]

I'm guessing this and the "Sega Channel" were totally seperate things, but how did the "Sega Channel" work with the Genesis? I don't remember much about it, just that my best friends cousin had won a free month of it, and he was able to download games and such... It's been a long time so my details are sketchy, but what did the "Sega Channel" do, and how did it work (especially without HDD's and memory cards and the likes)...

yeah the Sega Channel was mid 1990s and had nothing to do with the TeleGenesis modem. - the other modems that did come out for Genesis (and SNES) like the XBAND and Edge16 also had nothing to do with the TeleGenesis.

another unreleased modem for Genesis, the Baton Teleplay Modem

looks like a friggen 32X





so that's 4 Sega Genesis/MD modems that I am aware of

*TeleGenesis / Mega Modem - unreleased in the U.S.
*Catapult XBAND - released
*AT&T Edge16 - released (? maybe not)
*Baton Teleplay Modem - unreleased.

speeds:
TeleGenesis / Mega Modem: 1200 Baud
XBAND: 2400 Baud ?
Edge16: 4800 Baud ?
Baton Teleplay: 2400 Baud ?

[DarienA]

While we're on the subject of modems for old(er) consoles, I remember seeing a page a while back which had the plans (component list, circuit diagram etc.) for building a line simulator which you could use with a PC with a modem to hook up your Dreamcast if you didn't have the extremely-rare Broadband Adapter. Does anyone know where that page is and if it's still around? Failing that, what's the easiest way to hook up a Dreamcast to an existing broadband connection without having to pay big bucks on eBay?

http://dreamcast.onlineconsoles.com/..._pcdcwin98.php

??

[Joe]

the REAL genesis modem.

[shuri]

That Altered Beast promo.. Unretouched photo? What's that suposed to mean? They only retouched them one time?

[VictimOfGrief]

So basically if Sega made a system today it'd be called the.... no... no I won't do it...

[choplifter]

the REAL genesis modem.

you mean one of several released Genesis modems, not "the real", I find that offensive

[Joe]

i meant it in a sarcastic way. but i can safely say that xband was the best modem even though it was the only i used on genesis. it was so ahead of its time its ridiculous.

[choplifter]

i meant it in a sarcastic way. but i can safely say that xband was the best modem even though it was the only i used on genesis. it was so ahead of its time its ridiculous.

agreed. it was the best one for Genesis.

what confuses me, is with Saturn Net Link, my Saturn Bomberman going into XBAND mode to play online. did they have some deal with Sega for Net Link? I'm not as informed on NetLink as I am on the old 16-bit stuff.

[stewy]

Just how rare is that Dreamcast broadband adapter. I've got one here I bought and never opened.

[goodcow]

On a semi-related note, GAF never fails to amaze me. You can ask a question about the most obscure shit imaginable here, and within three replies you'll have pictures, EGM ads, a roster of announced games, price information, sales figures, and an in-depth review of the item from the one guy that actually bought it. Astounding.

QFT.

I had no idea such a thing even existed.

[choplifter]

QFT. I had no idea such a thing even existed.

yeah it was one of the main perihperals announced for Genesis in 1989 before it was even released in the U.S.


here is a snippet on the TeleGenesis from EGM's semi-famous TurboGrafx-16 vs Genesis article, circa late '89

Even though the Tele-Genesis modem has been announced, it has yet to appear and the real usefulness of a device that is used only to play games with friends over the phone lines remains questionable (both have to have the modem, the phone lines must be clear, the phone bills will be a problem if it's a long-distance call, etc.). But a Sega Game Network, which is accessed either directly or through an existing service like CompuServe or Genie, would be an extremely exciting development for the Sega modem. A game network that allows you to pull Sega 16- Bit games from a menu off of the phone lines and into your games will soon be available in Japan, so why not in the U.S.? Rumors indicate that it's close to reality on these shores as well so the modem may become a viable utility in the future.

http://www.classicgaming.com/museum/tg16/tgvsgen.shtml

the last part of that article kinda *sounds* like Sega Channel, but it's not, as Sega Channel came 5-6 years later using different technology, not using a modem (right?) but using cable lines. (i never had SC)


Tele-Genesis' counterpart in Japan, the Mega Modem and Sega Game Network for Megadrive was, seemingly, a response to Nintendo's Famicom modem and network.


edit: how the fuck could I forget; the Phantasy Star text adventures was originally released for the Megadrive over Sega's Network using the Tele-Modem / Mega Modem
before later being released on MegaCD

http://maxlow.net/phantasystar/phacts.html

Tele-Modem PS Games: There were also several Phantasy Star games released over the Japanese Tele-Modem gaming network (for the Mega Drive.) Eight small games, each based on a character from PSII, consisted of a text and graphical interface, similar to early Sierra PC games. These text adventures were also released for the Mega Drive CD platform on two CDs. Aside from these, one or both of the Game Gear games may have been available over the network. Click on any of the thumbnails below to view a larger version of the Tele-Modem images.

Phantasy Star text adventure releases:
Anne's Adventure - Anne Saga's text adventure game. (Amy Sage)
Huey's Adventure - Huey Sorn's text adventure game. (Hugh Thompson)
Kind's Adventure - Kind's text adventure game. (Josh Kain)
Shilka's Adventure - Shilka Levinia's text adventure game. (Shir Gold)

source: www.pscave.com

[choplifter]

found more on the Network Cartridge for the Mega Modem and the network
(Sega Game Library)

Those of you that own Japanese Mega Drives may have seen this cartridge pictured on the back of the box. It all sounds very interesting from the title "Sega Games Library" and even looks pretty interesting from the cover but just what is this cartridge? Well it has no games on it for a start. It's used to get your Mega Drive to connect to the special Sega servers. From there you can do such crap as betting and online banking. I think that's about it really (-_-)

thanks to http://www.segagagadomain.com/


edit: found a USENET post from 1990 when it came out in Japan

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.g...e=source&hl=en

SEGA Mega Drive Modem (Tele-Genesis Modem?) finally out in Japan! One of the first thing that got my attention when I got the Nov. issues of MD Fan and Beep! MD was their backpage ad, which was SEGA Mega Modem advertisement! The date of release is October 21, so I suppose it came out already in Japan. (btw Nov. issue magazines actually come out on Oct. in Japan.) Along with the modem-compatible games such as Tel Tel Stadium (baseball game), Tel Tel Maajang, Cyberball, SEGA also provides a dial-up gaming network called "SEGA Game Library." SEGA Game Library has so far the following games: Phantasy Star II - Text Adventure (actually there are pictures, too), Potter Golf (a golf game similar to Zany Golf), and Piramid Magic (a maze, puzzle game) The Mega Modem comes with a "Sega Network Cartridge, SEGA Game Library," and its retail price is 12,800 yen (~$80?) Dial-up service fee is 800 yen per month, which is very cheap also. Han.

edit: it seems that the Genesis game Fatal Labyrinth was originally a game released over the Sega Game Library using the modem

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.g...6?dmode=source

Taken from a game played over a network in Japan, Fatal Labyrinth is a new game from Sega which allows you to explore 30 levels of mazes in a quest to retrieve a goblet which will return light to the world. Since Sega Of America has released Fatal Labyrinth to be a beginner's "role playing game," there are no puzzles to solve, no people to talk to, and no battery or password backup! Essentially, this game is sup- posed to be easy enough that anyone can finish it. Being that this game is originally from the Sega Game Library in Japan, the information contained in the graphics and the music is min- ute compared to other games (my guess is that it reduces data trans- mission times). As a result, the graphics and sound on Fatal Laby- rinth are sub-par for a Genesis game.

[jooey]

goodcow's dream

[choplifter]

goodcow's dream

[choplifter]

a blurry scanned EGM article (1990) on the subject of the Sega Games Library / Network for the Mega Modem with picture of Phantasy Star text adventures.




Mega-Answer = Network Cartridge ? I guess



ah here's the one I was looking for. EGM 1989 article


larger version of same article if you want it
http://www.photodump.com/direct/Sega...sisArticle.jpg

[Lindsay]

and the real usefulness of a device that is used only to play games with friends over the phone lines remains questionable

I guess whoever wrote that is long beyond owned...but still!

And this is pretty neat. Never knew all about the Sega Channel but this? Way out there.

[btrboyev]

I loved those old genesis ads.

[belgurdo]

12 year old newsgroup blather about other doomed US Gene-modems

1. Dorian McCann Aug 29 1993, 10:58 pm show options Newsgroups: rec.games.video.sega From: d...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Dorian McCann) - Find messages by this author Date: 30 Aug 1993 03:57:42 GMT Local: Sun, Aug 29 1993 10:57 pm Subject: Sega Modem Telegenesis? Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse Did Sega ever market a product called the TeleGenesis? It's supposed to be for games like Cyberball and Telegenesis Cyberball. I was looking at the old Golden Axe poster that came with my Cyberball cart (1990). It shows the 'Modem'. It's a black rectangular thing with sega on it. I though t that Sega never had a modem? Did they scrap the plans or are there some floating around still, like the power base converters (no longer manufactured)? Thanks. 2. Galen Tatsuo Komatsu Aug 29 1993, 11:35 pm show options Newsgroups: rec.games.video.sega From: gkoma...@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.Edu (Galen Tatsuo Komatsu) - Find messages by this author Date: Mon, 30 Aug 1993 04:19:55 GMT Local: Sun, Aug 29 1993 11:19 pm Subject: Re: Sega Modem Telegenesis? Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse In article <25rtrm$...@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> d...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Dorian McCann) writes: >Did Sega ever market a product called the TeleGenesis? It's supposed >to be for games like Cyberball and Telegenesis Cyberball. I was looking >at the old Golden Axe poster that came with my Cyberball cart (1990). It >shows the 'Modem'. It's a black rectangular thing with sega on it. I though >t that Sega never had a modem? Did they scrap the plans or are there some >floating around still, like the power base converters (no longer manufactured)? yup, exactly that. It was announced but never released. It wasn't overly popular in Japan so they decided not to bring it here. Or something on similiar lines. So don't expect to see a modem for the Genesis to make it's debut (the "announced" Sega one at least.) Believe it or not, the modem feature IS in Cyberball (or I think it is, I only toyed with the Japanese release, which is bilingual.) I at one time had the Japanese game. When plugged into a Japanese system, the modem option appeared, though it was disabled since I don't have the modem for the console. When we plugged it into my friend's Genesis, the modem option disappeared. If you have a language switch on your system, set it to Japanese and plug in Cyberball. The modem option should appear...though you won't be able to pick it... =^) -- Galen Komatsu ($B>.>>%?%D%*(J) | $B%2!<%`!'(J $B%a%,%I%i%$%V(J gkoma...@hawaii.edu | $B2;3Z!'(J $B%6!&%A%'%C%+!<%:(J a...@cleveland.freenet.edu | $B%"%$%I%k!'(J $B9b66M3H~;R(J 3. Ralph Barbagallo Sep 5 1993, 11:21 pm show options Newsgroups: rec.games.video.sega From: nug...@genesis.nred.ma.us (Ralph Barbagallo) - Find messages by this author Date: 3 Sep 93 16:24:21 GMT Local: Fri, Sep 3 1993 11:24 am Subject: Re: Sega Modem Telegenesis? Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse Dorian McCann (d...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu) wrote: : : Did Sega ever market a product called the TeleGenesis? It's supposed : to be for games like Cyberball and Telegenesis Cyberball. I was looking : at the old Golden Axe poster that came with my Cyberball cart (1990). It : shows the 'Modem'. It's a black rectangular thing with sega on it. I though : t that Sega never had a modem? Did they scrap the plans or are there some floating around still, like the power base converters (no longer manufactured)? Thanks. It was SUPPOSED to be released in the US in '90... I was waiting for it... and then they decided against releasing it because it was too slow (I THINK it was 300 baud...but I've also heard it was 1200). It was released in Japan where it was fairly popular. They have some on-line games, banking, etc. available in Japan using the TeleGenesis. BUT...all is not lost. 2 modems are coming out for the Genesis (and varoius other systems) this year. The first, the Baton Teleplay is a 2400 baud modem which plugs into the cartridge port of the Genesis. It has another cart port in it to plug in the Teleplay games, and has a port to plug in standard pc-style AT keyboards. 6 games will be available upon it's release. These include several wargames, a few space games, and an action title (I think). The second is the SEGA/AT&T venture... Edge16. This plugs into the cart port and has another cart port in it for Edge16 cards. HOWEVER, you can also plug in PCMCIA cards up to 128k for new stats in sports titles, new characters in RPGs, saving positions in games, saving characters, etc. etc. etc. This also allows standard AT style keyboards to be plugged into it, but a special EDGE-16 keyboard will be produced (which looks much nicer). The fantastic thing about this modem is that runs at 4800 baud... and let's you have a VOICE conversation at the SAME TIME as the modem transmission is going on... via the built-in speakerphone..!!! I think both of these will be released prior to Xmas... I can't wait, both will be under $100. I suggest when it does, we start a mailing list of people who own these for a sort of gaming network for tournaments etc. -- Ralph A.Barbagallo III_Only AMIGA Makes it Possible!_nug...@genesis.nred.ma.us

Sega brilliance at work

2. Ho Yoon Mar 16 1994, 9:47 pm show options Newsgroups: rec.games.video.sega, alt.sega.genesis, rec.games.video.misc From: h...@quack.kfu.com (Ho Yoon) - Find messages by this author Date: 17 Mar 1994 02:47:01 UTC Local: Wed, Mar 16 1994 9:47 pm Subject: Re: What ever happened to TeleGenesis? Reply to Author | Forward | Print | Individual Message | Show original | Report Abuse In article <2m57p5$...@quartz.ucs.ualberta.ca> npalo...@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca (Nathan Palovcik) writes: >Does anyone know what happened to the TeleGenesis modem? I noticed it in >an ad for the Genesis from early 1989. I know the Famicom had one in >Japan, but that didn't connect two systems; just the system to shopping >and banking networks. >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >"We seem to be made to suffer... it's our lot in life." -C3PO >Nathan Palovcik (Cardinal Fang) >npalo...@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca Everyone talks about Nintendo's vaporware but the Telegenesis was clearly Sega's vaporware which they probably never intended to market in the US. I remember when the Genesis was introduced, there was a LOT of publicity about this product. They described several games which supposedly were designed with the modem capability in mind. Many articles talked about how the response over modem was pretty good and so on. I knew some people inside Sega, who claimed to test it at work but gradually, Sega's stance seemed to evolve into the position that there was no interest in the US market, even though they never tried to market it. Around the same time, Sega started to generate interest in the CD-ROM. At this time, most of the games were 1-player so neither Sega nor the software makers seemed interested in multi-player gaming, with or without modems and networks. My guess is that they were more interested in selling a $300 box than a $100 modem. Hopefully, the Edge modem can provide the kind of games Sega promised.>

[choplifter]

I guess whoever wrote that is long beyond owned...but still!

yeah but games played over a 1200 baud modem would've been pretty BAD lag/latency wise

[choplifter]

12 year old newsgroup blather about other doomed US Gene-modems Sega brilliance at work

interesting stuff.
anyone have impressions of the Edge16 modem ? which supposedly did make it out

[cvxfreak]

It's so amazing how technology has flung so fast in the last decade.

[choplifter]

It's so amazing how technology has flung so fast in the last decade.

er, well about ~16 years. but yeah you're right. the technology we have now for comminucations, online gaming, internet, etc, is just....staggaring.

[xexex]

how did the speed of Mega Modem gaming compare to the NetLink gaming ?

[Barry Lightning]

12 year old newsgroup blather about other doomed US Gene-modems

that guy dorian posted on usenet for like a decaade. i wonder if he's still there

[Fishie flop oog]

Killer thread.
Takes me back down memory lane.

[Cerebral Palsy]

X-Band fucking rocked. SMK, MK2, SSF2, K.I., Kirby's Avalanche... If it was still around today I'd still be playing the thing religously. I felt like a loved one had died when they ended service :(

[choplifter]

Barry, have my contributions to your thread been informative ?


edit: found an article and pics of the Edge 16

http://www.fatmangames.com/News/News...asp?newsid=180

The online effort for Genesis that you've probably never heard of was The Edge 16. AT&T had a fantastic idea. They were going to break into the 16-bit on-line gaming market FIRST, and with the most clout. During the year of 1994, they worked with a small company known as P.F. Magic. The man that made Asteroids was contracted to design their modem. It was to be a glorious victory for AT&T, and a big contract coup for P.F. Magic and Sega. Their ads promised "Soon, everyone will be playing videogames by phone. It's inevitable." And it wasn't just the ads that were rolled out. This thing went ballistic at the Summer CES in Chicago - there were playable units (man, I wish I had one of these!). Press releases were shoved into the hands of any unsuspecting passerby. And every P.F. Magic employee was grinning ear to ear. But then, the big giant did the unthinkable. AT&T ran away. They were faced with some hard times, and they abandoned many of their "multimedia" projects, including the Edge 16. In fact, the pullout was so drastic and so quick, that the elimination of several projects cast a shadow of doubt onto many unsuspecting companies. One such company was the fledgling 3DO! Trip Hawkins spent several months telling people that 3DO wasn't going anywhere. Truly a sad event for many would-be online gamers. I may be one of the few people that have actually played on an Edge 16. I have confirmed only 2 others, pictured here at the end of this article. Although the scan is a bit small to see it, The boy on the right has the biggest zit I've ever seen. Why didn't they take the picture from the other side, for pity's sake!? The Edge 16 aside, the Sega Channel was probably the most well-known of Sega's on-line efforts. Fistula remembers the Sega Channel today. The XBand modem was also released for the Sega Genesis, in 1995. This was the first cross platform modem, and the XBand found limited commercial success - it even went nationwide. XBand was up for 2 years, until April 30, 1997. By the way, yes, the Atari 2600's had a modem: the CVC Gameline. If you remember this, you're older than me. Probably by a good 50 years. The Gameline is evil unleashed upon the world. Cool concept? NO. After failing with the Gameline, CVC somehow became America Online. The whole thing is like icing on the cake of Atari failure. We don't mention the Gameline in my house.

wow that looks cool





whoa, some things about Edge 16 I never knew til just now
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.06/sega_pr.html

To learn the business of interactive services, Sega turned to AT&T and PF Magic, a San Francisco-based multimedia development company. Due in summer 1994, The Edge 16 is a Genesis peripheral that captures a gamer's joystick movements and transmits them via phone lines to any similarly equipped Genesis machine. Think of it as ISDN meets Sonic the Hedgehog. The Edge will also allow voice connections, so gamers can hear each other yip and yowl as they compete. The Edge is much more than a Sega modem. It includes four slots for "enhanced game play," double the onboard RAM of the Genesis, and "special ports for the addition of a keyboard, as well as future expansion upgrades," according to AT&T's press release. In other words, The Edge, which will retail for about US$150, is AT&T's bid for the home telecomputer market. And it's Sega, not Nintendo, that AT&T is betting will take it there.

edit: it seems the Edge 16 was never really released. seems that only a few units were produced. so it is going back into the unreleased category.

[choplifter]

article on the Baton Teleplay and its competition from Lost Levels

http://www.lostlevels.org/200310/200310-baton.shtml

Spotlight: Baton Teleplay Modem In 1992, when the World Wide Web was still an ambitious dream and most people had not even heard the term “email,” Keith Rupp designed what was arguably the world’s first console gaming modem. The Baton Teleplay Modem, designed for the three leading consoles of the time, offered something that was then unheard-of to gamers: the ability to compete head-to-head against a real human player anywhere across the country. It was a revolutionary idea, far ahead of its time, that almost certainly would have changed the face of gaming as we know it. So why have you never heard of it? I caught up with Keith to find out. -By Frank Cifaldi Keith (as he prefers to be referred to for the duration of this article) first had the idea in 1990. A gamer himself, Keith recognized the nearly limitless potential of attaching online capability to the then-powerhouse gaming console, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). An early investor by the name of Albert Zlotnick introduced Keith to Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari, who took the idea under his wings. The initial modem, named the Ayota View (“A-Toy-A backwards,” as Keith explains it), was shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with positive response. Behind the scenes, things weren’t so good. In order to cut down costs, Bushnell insisted on knocking the modem speed down to a crawling 300 bits-per-second, nowhere near enough for any real-time action. At that speed, the Ayota View wouldn’t be able to offer much more than a leisurely game of chess. Bushnell continued his questionable business decisions by offering Keith a measly five percent of the company, and refused to allow him to meet with the investors. The final blow for the Ayota View project came when Bushnell pulled out of the “partnership” due to difficulties with an unrelated venture, killing what would have been the world’s first console modem. Left to his own devices, Keith developed the first prototype of his Teleplay Modem in 1992, with the help of an outside expert. The modem ran at 2400 bits-per-second, more than adequate for any action-oriented gaming needs on the consoles of that time period. It even featured a standard AT keyboard connector for potential internet access. Rather than focusing solely on the NES, the Teleplay Modem was a single unit designed to also be compatible with the other two leading consoles of the time, the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Furthermore, games developed for the Teleplay Modem were to be cross-compatible between systems. What this meant was that a user playing BattleStorm, a tank combat simulation designed at the time by Keith, could compete on the NES against another user using a Sega Genesis. Cross-platform compatibility such as this was, and still is, unheard-of. Braving the perils of corporate America, Keith formed Baton Technologies, Inc. in a small office in an industrial park near Skyharbor Airport in Phoenix. A breakdown of Baton's staff, at its peak, is as follows: * Keith Rupp – CEO, NES developer * David Young and Tom Williams – additional NES support * Chuck Peavey, Bret Timmons, and Brad Timmons – Sega Genesis development * Dan Cervelli and Jeff Miller – Super Nintendo development * Scott Schryver – various development utilities * Don Forbes – music and sound effects * Will Rau, Luke Maze, and Dohyung Kim – quality assurance * Wayne Crusinberry – office manager Although the entire crew was dedicated and talented, a lack of required venture capital from Baton’s investors forced Keith to put so much time into developing the Teleplay Modem that he literally lived at the office, sleeping on the office couch and showering in the men’s bathroom. “Many nights at least half of us were working past midnight, and as a break I’d take everyone out to a Denny’s a mile down the road for dinner. Kind of an impromptu status meeting would come out over the seasoned fries,” Keith recalled. With all of the technological development it needed, the only real pitfall Baton had to face, other than financial difficulties, was that of obtaining an official license from Nintendo and/or Sega. Licensing was, and still is, practically mandatory for a video game developer on console and handheld gaming systems. Most major retailers refused to carry “unlicensed” video games, such as those developed by Color Dreams and American Video Entertainment for the NES, due to unwavering pressure from Nintendo of America. Knowing that working without a license was practically suicide, Keith approached the industry giants with an impressive demonstration of a fully-functioning modem and early prototypes of Baton’s three compatible games. “Their attitudes ranged from indifference to slight interest in perhaps stealing our ideas,” Keith said. “In some cases, I believe they were almost amused – here’s these upstart twenty-something kids with small-time investors thinking they can turn our insular empires upside-down.“ The influence of these “insular empires” spread all the way to third party developers interested in working with the Teleplay Modem. Developers such as Electronic Arts and Sierra Software showed interest in making modem-compatible games, and were in contact with Keith, discussing the possibilities. “But then a suit would call higher up in the company and say they wouldn’t even consider making their games compatible with the Teleplay unless we were licensed, said Keith.“ As if the licensing woes weren’t enough, In July of 1993 AT&T announced their partnership with PF Magic and Sega of America to develop the Edge 16 Modem, compatible with the Sega Genesis and the ill-fated Panasonic 3DO. AT&T promised all of the capabilities and features already developed by Baton. In fact, there was only one minor detail to distinguish the two modems. The Edge 16 didn’t exist. “Since they were AT&T, they convinced Sega to license them and not us; not based on any product they really had, but because of who they were,“ Will Rau, former director of quality assurance at Baton Technologies, said. Whether it was because of Keith’s meetings with Sega, his conversations with third party developers, or perhaps a premature magazine interview done by one of Baton’s investors, it was fairly obvious that AT&T caught wind of Baton’s plans and took it upon themselves to capitalize on their ideas. With licensing now out of the question, Keith made the brave decision to carry on without official approval from Nintendo or Sega. Keith figured that Baton could survive by releasing the Teleplay Modem well before the Edge 16 was ready for production. He even planned to make the two modems compatible, assuring success by competing on price. “I wasn’t afraid of AT&T,” Keith said, “although my investors were.” Despite having a huge order to fill, manufacturing set up and ready to go, and almost definite success ahead, Baton’s investors became intimidated by AT&T. They pulled out, taking their venture capital with them. Without the money necessary to manufacture the Teleplay Modem, the first order went unfulfilled. “If we had just fulfilled our first order, we would have made back all the monies invested in Baton up to that point and made a small profit,” said Keith. With a fully-functioning modem and three cross-compatible games completed and ready to be manufactured, Baton closed its doors, leaving behind a $40,000 payroll debt that Keith had to personally pay using his credit cards. “With the benefit of a lot of time to look back, Baton was my personality amplified – had its technical face together, but was a little awkward socially, which led to the lack of money,” Keith said. “It was a great idea, far ahead of its time. We all learned a great deal from the experience, it’s just unfortunate we couldn’t make it go.” AT&T’s Edge 16 Modem was never produced. In fact, as of this writing, this author has found no evidence to suggest that development was even begun. In May of 1995, a company called Catapult attempted to revive the idea with their XBAND Modem. Catapult had an official license from both Nintendo and Sega, and were able to actually produce and sell their product which was compatible with both the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System. They enjoyed marginal success, but ultimately failed. Any potential market for the XBAND Modem was diminished by the Internet explosion of the mid-90’s. A web site called The Nintendo Information Repository (http://www.gamersgraveyard.com/repository) features a small article on the XBAND modem. “Five years previous to the XBAND’s original release, this idea would have no doubtedly [sic] been a smash hit.” Perhaps. Unfortunately, we’ll never know.

[xexex]

Edge 16 sounded amazing so what a shame it didnt make it because it sounds better than the XBAND and all the others.

[choplifter]

Mega Modem commercial video (use IE unless your FireFox has the needed plugins)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piZ5zcFyFnI

[Killerclaw]

I love it when people use my videos.

You gotta give SEGA props for this, they where a decade a head of everyone.

[xexex]

nobody answered my question :/

[D-X]

Anyone ever play Sonic Eraser?

http://ghz.emulationzone.org/sonic/eraser/eraser.html

[xexex]

I found more interesting pics of games and apps for the Japanese version
of the TeleGenesis Modem (Mega-Modem) thanks to the Mega Play archives on sega-spetsnaz.com info on the TeraDrive (IBM PC + Megadrive) too

[Mejilan]

Oh shit, I remember the Tera... Never came out, right?

[xexex]

Oh shit, I remember the Tera... Never came out, right?

it came out in Japan only, i think.

[Mejilan]

it came out in Japan only, i think.

Close enough. ;p

[Barry Lightning]

yea, the modem and the amazing 3d glasses on the master system are 2 great examples of sega pioneering some true "next level" shit by way of accessories. good stuff.

[bjork]

I remember hearing about this and thinking I had access to top secret info... I also thought I was all Wargames and shit when I took the little part of the housing off the bottom of Genesis and saw the slot for the SCD. Being 13 is stupid

I have that three-button stick, too... was good times until SF2 came out, heh.

[Dorian McCann]

that guy dorian posted on usenet for like a decaade. i wonder if he's still there

Yes, i'm still out here. Although I don't frequest the Newsgroups much anymore.

[Dorian McCann]

12 year old newsgroup blather about other doomed US Gene-modems Sega brilliance at work

When I posted that years ago I was a diehard Sega fan. After the debacle with the Genesis, Sega CD and 32X I turned my back on them for good. I ignored the Saturn and the Dreamcast. They buried themselves and I have no problem with the fact they got out of the console market all together.

I did the unthinkable and switched to Nintendo. Something I thought I would never do back then.

-D.