Play Sega Channel Online

Back in 1994, Sega released the Sega Channel, a subscription service for the Genesis that came through your cable line. It was a little adapter that sat on top of the console, and once a month it would download a new selection of around 50 games. You never knew exactly what would show up; it was a mix of well-known titles, sports games, and a lot of stuff you'd never rent from a store.

You'd scroll through a grid of game icons using your controller, pick one, and it would load directly into memory. There was no objective beyond just playing whatever looked interesting for as long as you wanted. The real draw was the constant novelty and the ability to sample a huge library without any physical cartridges. It felt like having a video game channel that only you could control, a quiet little revolution happening right in your living room.