^ I'm thinking dreamcast ,but I could be wrong.

yeah it was Dreamcast

Dreamcast indeed

wasn't it Sega Saturn?

I think it may be the Sega Genesis. I remember some cable companies carried some kind of service that allowed you to download games for the system. I think at least one game offered was never distributed outside of the channel and that a few were games that were available for the service before they were released in stores.

There was a device that let you play SNES and Genesis games online, back in the day. I can't recall what it was, though. Somebody else remember?

The N64 had the "Sharkwire". No online games. Just a Web Browser. The Dreamcast was the first to do it officially, and the first to do it right. *edit* Dammit, Legend11! You beat me to it!!

Actually, if you count online services in general, the NES was first in Japan to offer any online services at all (not gaming-related, though). The Genesis was the first to have online gaming services and an online marketplace in the form of the Sega Channel. The SNES was the first console to feature online-centric games with downloadable content (in the form of two Zelda titles on the Sattelaview, to name the two best-known examples).

Ya, it was the NES... There was a modem you could get for it in Japan. In North America we were dialing up on our C64 300 baud modems to surf BBS's.

From Wikipedia:

Famicom MODEM - Used to connect to a Nintendo server which provided content such as jokes, news (mainly about Nintendo), game tips, weather reports for Japan and allowed a small number of games to be downloaded.

There was also a modem in development for the NES in the US, by a third party, known as the Teleplay Modem. Also from Wikipedia:

Teleplay MODEM - A MODEM that enabled head to head play with other consoles (including the Sega Genesis).

That one never got released, though.

Ok after a bit of searching I found the name of the service I was remembering:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sega_Channel

"Sega Channel was a project developed by Sega for the 16-bit Sega Genesis console. Starting in 1994, Sega Channel service was provided to the public by Time Warner Cable and TCI, which later was acquired by the old AT&T during its cable acquisition spree that formed AT&T Broadband.

For a monthly subscription fee (usually $14.95 depending on location), along with a $25 activation fee, the subscriber would get an adapter, which plugged into the Genesis cartridge slot, and was connected to their cable television connection. The service would provide them with unlimited access to 50 games, selectable through an on-screen menu, with new games appearing every month and later every 2 weeks. The games would be downloaded in about 1 minute and play just like the retail versions. These games were organized by genre, such as Action, Fighting, Adventure, and Family. Each month, there was a special theme with originally composed music, artwork and game categories.

Sega also ran several promotions through the service:

• Special "test drives" for up-and-coming titles were provided. In some, after a certain time limit (15 minutes), gameplay was terminated, and the player was returned to the menu. Other games had limited content; for example, Primal Rage had only two characters playable, and Sonic 3D Blast ended after completing the first stage.
• Special modifications of existing retail games were made for Sega Channel, the most popular of which was a special version of Earthworm Jim by Shiny Entertainment.
• Some games not released in the United States were exclusive to the service.
• Cheats and tips could be accessed on the service and appeared while the games were downloading.
• Throughout the service's life, contests were held, where players could win Arcade machines, projection TVs, BMX bikes, etc.

The service was also available in Canada, in some parts of the United Kingdom on certain cable services, in Chile on the defunct Metropolis cable company, and in Argentina on a national TCI branch, Cablevisión TCI. Also, In Australia on Austar and the now defunct Galaxy."