dmb062082

David Becker with his three sons in a later family photograph — David Becker with his three sons, in a later photograph.

Yes, I’ve got to give myself a bio.

David Becker, known online as dmb062082, started Xbox Power before the original Xbox reached stores. He followed emulator projects, interviewed developers, and built and hosted websites for XPort, SuperFro, and Lantus, later known as Modern Vintage Gamer. Through XB-Power, he helped distribute their emulators to the public. Years later, he founded Retro Replay. The projects belonged to their programmers; the pages, hosting, and conversations were his way of joining in.

Biography at a glance

Name and handle: David Becker, dmb062082.
Known for: Building and hosting emulator project websites through Xbox Power / XB-Power for XPort, SuperFro, and Lantus (Modern Vintage Gamer), helping distribute their emulators to the public; founding Retro Replay.
Earliest dated site capture located: August 4, 2001, xboxpower.retrogames.com.
Another documented 2001 host: VG-Network, captured October 19.
The xb-power.com domain: Becker announced the purchase on September 7, in an October 19 capture of the VG-Network site. An October 19 capture of the domain redirects to VG-Network.
First appearance in this history: 2001, in the chapter on the Dreamcast-to-Xbox transition and the early Xbox web scene.

A site before the console reached stores

August 2001 Xbox Power webpage hosted on Retrogames — An August 2001 archive capture places Xbox Power on Retrogames before the retail Xbox launch.

An August 4, 2001 archived page shows X-BOX POWER! hosted as a Retrogames subsite. The first (or one of the first) Xbox homebrew fan site created. Its front page contains dated August news posts and discusses an anticipated MAME project via interview, associated with Otaku no Zoku. The contemporary page shows excitement and a claim about work in progress. The retail Xbox had not yet launched, which makes the site’s existence interesting enough without embellishment: people were forming an Xbox emulation community around previews, developer access, and the prospect of what the hardware might do.

Giving the programmers a home online

Becker recalls interviewing Otaku no Zoku and creating message boards around his early Xbox work (MAME to Xbox) for him to offer question and answer sessions to fans. As the console’s homebrew scene grew, XB-Power became a home for other developers too. Becker built and hosted the project websites for XPort, SuperFro, and Lantus, now known as Modern Vintage Gamer. Those sites helped get their Xbox emulators out to the public: XPort’s growing collection of ports, SuperFro’s MAME-X, and Lantus’s xSnes9x. The screenshots below show the websites Becker made for the developers, where players could find project news, release information, and support.

XPort’s September 12, 2002 welcome page makes the hosting connection explicit: I’d also like to thank xb-power.com for hosting this website. Above it, he identified himself as the person behind the Xbox ports of Stella, Gnuboy, FCEUltra, HU-GO, SMSPlus, DGen, NeoPop, and Bochs.

XPort’s September 12, 2002 homepage listing Xbox emulator ports and thanking xb-power.com for hosting — XPort’s September 12, 2002 page.

The later XPort design kept the same practical rhythm: news in the middle, projects and links down the side. In the October 2003 view, Commodore PET and VIC-20 releases sit alongside updates to familiar console ports. The site was growing with the work.

XPort Emulation homepage with October 2003 updates for Commodore and console emulators — The XPort site in October 2003, with a new design and updates for the Commodore VIC-20 and PET.

The bright green xSnes9x page gave Lantus’s Super Nintendo port its own identity. Its Beta 5 notes describe changes players could feel: save states, display fixes, and the ability to rescan another disc of games.

Green xSnes9x website showing Lantus’s 2002 Beta 5 release notes — The xSnes9x website dmb062082 built and hosted for Lantus (Modern Vintage Gamer), showing the 2002 Beta 5 release notes.

MAME-X had a different look: a metal-lettered logo, arcade characters, and SuperFro’s updates. The surviving page includes work in progress, media coverage, and a feature about using an X-Arcade controller. It offered a place to follow the project between releases.

MAME-X website with news posted by SuperFro and an X-Arcade controller feature — The MAME-X website built and hosted for SuperFro, with project news and an X-Arcade controller feature.

The dated XPort pages carry the story beyond XB-Power’s 2001 beginnings into 2002 and 2003. His later account of Retro Replay’s origins looks back on the interviews and hosting work as some of his favorite contributions.

David Becker in the History of Video Game Emulation

2001 Part II: Consoles, Courts, and the Websites Between Them. Xbox Power is captured at Retrogames in August and at VG-Network in October. The chapter places Becker near the end of the year’s larger Dreamcast and emulation story.
2002–2003: The preserved XPort pages above show the hosting relationship and the site’s continuing updates.

Related people

Dave (Conjuror) — VG-Network host whom Becker credits with helping the site continue.
Atilla — Retrogames webmaster whom Becker credits with the earlier hosting arrangement; Retrogames host.
Otaku no Zoku — early Xbox developer discussed on Xbox Power; a developer Becker interviewed.
XPort, SuperFro, and Lantus — developers whose websites Becker built and hosted through XB-Power, helping distribute their Xbox emulators to the public.