We just didn’t know any different! Compared to the precision of FPS games that we’re used to now, it would probably feel like painful slow-motion to watch our old Goldeneye matches…
I still get that with anything that I don’t buy from Amazon, also game releases that I’ve been following for a while (currently sitting patiently until the Elden Ring DLC finally drops for my time zone).
I didn’t have it myself either (until years later), but a neighbor down the street did. I remember all the kids in the neighborhood playing on that system.