Teleplay Modem
Encyclopedia
Modem
A modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...
for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
created by Keith Rupp and Nolan Bushnell
Nolan Bushnell
Nolan K. Bushnell is an American engineer and entrepreneur who founded both Atari, Inc and the Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza-Time Theaters chain...
, designed to provide online play between NES users, while also possessing compatibility with the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
. The first prototype, called the "Ayota Modem", had a maximum speed of only 300 bit/s, too slow to render normal NES quality graphics. It was unveiled at the 1992 consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, where it received a fairly good reception. Bushnell later dropped out of the project, and Keith Rupp founded the company Baton Technologies. He continued to develop the modem, changing its name to the Teleplay Modem, increasing the speed to 2400 bit/s, and also conceiving the idea of Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo system compatibility. The modem would also allow cross-platform play between Nintendo and Sega with properly coded games. Three games were developed internally (Battle Storm, Terran Wars, and Sea Battle) but never released. Both Nintendo and Sega refused to license the Teleplay Modem or the games developed for it. Sega instead licensed AT&T to develop a modem (the Edge 16), but no hardware was ever sold at retail. The venture capitalists behind Baton Technologies feared competing against AT&T and attempting to sell hardware/games without the all-important licensing, so Baton was unable to fulfill its first $300,000 order, and quickly folded thereafter in the summer of 1993.
Later Catapult Entertainment developed the 2400 baud XBand
XBAND
XBAND was an early online console gaming network for SNES and Sega Genesis systems. It was produced by Catapult Entertainment, a Cupertino, California based software company, and made its debut in various areas of the United States in late 1994 and 1995...
modem, similar to the Teleplay Modem in many respects. Although well funded by Viacom, Catapult failed to receive sufficient developer and gamer backing, folding in early 1997.
See also
- Atari 2600Atari 2600The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
's GameLineGamelineThe CVC GameLine was a cartridge for the Atari 2600 which could download games using a telephone line.In the early 1980s a cable pioneer named William von Meister was looking for a way to use his innovative modem transmission technology, recently acquired in ill-fated attempts of sending music to... - IntellivisionIntellivisionThe Intellivision is a video game console released by Mattel in 1979. Development of the console began in 1978, less than a year after the introduction of its main competitor, the Atari 2600. The word intellivision is a portmanteau of "intelligent television"...
's PlayCablePlayCableThe PlayCable system, introduced in 1981, allowed local cable-TV system operators to send Intellivision games over the wire alongside the normal TV signal... - Sega Genesis's Sega ChannelSega ChannelSega Channel was a project developed by Sega for the 16-bit Sega Mega Drive/Genesis console. Starting in December 1994, Sega Channel service was provided to the public by Time Warner Cable and TCI, which later was acquired by AT&T during its cable acquisition spree that formed AT&T...
- Super FamicomSuper Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
's SatellaviewSatellaviewThe is a satellite modem add-on for Nintendo's Super Famicom system that was released in Japan in 1995. Available for pre-release orders as early as February 13, 1995, the Satellaview retailed for between ¥14,000 and 18,000 and came bundled with the BS-X Game Pak and an 8M Memory Pak.The... - Nintendo Entertainment SystemNintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
's Famicom ModemFamicom ModemThe is a video game peripheral for Family Computer released only in Japan in 1988. It allowed the user access to a server that provided game cheats, jokes, weather forecasts, and a small amount of downloadable content. It could also be used to make live stock trades. Unlike the NES Teleplay Modem,...