The XBAND Video Game Network service launched for the Sega Genesis in November of 1994, and for the Super Nintendo in June of 1995. Imagine the XBOX Live or PSN experience we know today with player profiles, messages, and online play, but on 16-Bit consoles! The service was a decade ahead of it's time, as although it allowed online play on games such as Mario Kart, Killer Instinct, DOOM, Super Street Fighter II, and Mortal Kombat 3 on the SNES and Genesis, it only ever saw a maximum of 15000 subscribers to the service at it's peak. As such it was sadly discontinued on April 30th 1997. This left a huge impression on a group of gaming friends in a SoCal neighborhood that were growing up at the same time the internet was starting to blow up in popularity. That group of friends have since carried on the guild name across many games to honor the memory and spirit of XBAND.