Memorable Gaming Moment 2002: The Network Adapter

Memorable moments don’t always have to be super positive and this particular article will prove it. 2002 was the big year for online console gaming (sorry Dreamcast, you were ahead of your time and you suffered for it). I’m sure everyone has fond memories of the launch of Xbox Live, but as I didn’t own an Xbox; I was pumped to play games online with my PS2 …while using my dial-up connection. My lack of a high-speed connection would greatly limit my online capabilities, but I was good at ignoring the fact that playing the PS2 online totally sucked.

I remember imagining how fun it would be to play SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs online in my fictional world where dial-up was the fastest speed in the universe. Instead, I was stuck playing Twisted Metal: Black Online (which actually wasn’t bad) and Madden, which usually ended with a dropped game or one-frame-a-second gameplay. You’re probably saying that I shouldn’t be complaining when it’s my fault for only having dial-up and what I have to say to you is fudge you! Sony shouldn’t have convinced me that dial-up would be good enough for most games; they should have just required a high-speed connection like Xbox Live.

With all that said, I loved my network adapter back in the day and thought it was the greatest thing in the world. Online console gaming was such a novelty back then like playing where’s the snake with Tickle Me Elmo (I plead da fizith). No one can honestly say that online gaming on the PS2 was actually good (there were a few exceptions), but when you’re sixteen, hormonal, and heavily into heroine (not me, just an example); you’re able to find the best in the worst. Author’s Note: I have never injected myself with heroine; and I went through puberty when I was about ten, not sixteen.