I think most people are probably aware that when Microsoft launched Xbox Live in 2002, it didn’t invent online gaming for consoles. But here’s a fun little factoid for you: Xbox Live launched 19 years ago, and the earliest examples of pioneering online work on console actually happened almost the exact same amount of time prior to the introduction of Live. Back in the early Eighties, both the Atari 2600 and the Intellivision had some kind of online option, albeit in an extremely limited capacity — services like GameLine and PlayCable for the two classic consoles didn’t allow for online interaction with other users, but they did allow access to digital storefronts where new games could be downloaded and played. Low uptake and high costs (both for suppliers and players) meant neither lasted particularly long, and when they were discontinued amid the 1983 video game crash, it sent a…
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