I’ve been digging into the PlayStation 2 recently, coincidentally, for a few projects. I was working on a new episode of Millennium Edition about Final Fantasy XI and its unique history as one of the earliest cross-platform games, and that got me thinking. What are some other early cross-platform games? Who did it first? How many questions can I come up with for this opening paragraph?

Looking at Final Fantasy XI led me to dig into other games that used the PS2 HDD. This was just a curious rabbit hole, something to fall into for fun, and I saw a long list of games that installed to reduce load times, and that was pretty much it. Games like Resident Evil Outbreak, RPG Maker 3, and Capcom vs. SNK 2 all had little flash in their use of the HDD. That was the end of this rabbit hole, and I moved on.

A few days later, I started working on digging into odd accessories and network-compatible games for the PS2. Then I remembered my own time with my PS2. I was super excited about the network adaptor and playing online for the first time with the system, as I never had a network connection on my Dreamcast and felt I missed out on a lot of great experiences. Unfortunately, Sony delayed the accessory in North America, and my dreams of playing Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 online were killed. Or so I thought. Tony Hawk was still released on time, and the game supported a handful of USB modems to bypass the delayed adaptor. This was pretty unique, but there have to be more games, right?

So here I am, now curious about games that utilized USB modems for early PS2 online games. This new rabbit hole led me to a few unique titles, but then I saw that the Japanese version of a specific game supported a USB modem that was also on that HDD list. Capcom vs. SNK 2. Just because of the familiarity of seeing the same game the other day, I decided to pull at that thread. What type of modem did this use, and what was the online play like?

Well, it turns out Capcom promoted a specific USB modem that was compatible with the Japanese version of the game for PS2 owners. Digging into this further, I can see the game supported KDDI's “Multi Matching” system. I have never heard of this before, and what I found was amazing. In Japan, players who owned the game on either the Dreamcast or the PlayStation 2 could actually connect online and fight against each other. This was cross-platform connectivity a year before Final Fantasy XI.

KDDI was a Japanese telecommunications company, and through a partnership with Capcom, it helped implement online matchmaking over dial-up connections for several Dreamcast games in Japan. These enabled two Dreamcasts to connect and play against each other, with Capcom vs. SNK 2 being the first title from the company to support cross-platform play. From all I can see, this is currently the earliest example I can find of two separate consoles connecting together for online multiplayer. Though finding this has made me curious to look for more.

In 2002, also only in Japan, was Capcom’s Kidou Senshi Gundam: Renpou vs. Zeon & DX. This was another Dreamcast/PlayStation 2 cross-platform compatible title. The game would make its way to North America as Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation vs. Zeon, but without online play.

The first North American cross-platform game would still be Final Fantasy XI, which allowed both PC and PS2 players to play together, but instead of being regionally isolated, this game’s servers allowed for players to connect worldwide. A few years after the PS2 release, Square released the Xbox 360 version of the game, further connecting players and marking the first PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 cross-platform release.

If you know of any other unique titles that connected players across console boundaries, I’d love to continue investigating and put together a list.