The Virpets network system was designed to abstract away the input devices from the Stage, so that a joystick, a MIDI control, or a waldo could all send the same sort of data stream. This permits input devices to be remapped ad hoc without having to change the control axis' expected input values. Also, by insulating the input control loop from the stage rendering loop, it permits greater flexibility in deciding whether the console and the display are the same machine, two machines, or many machines.
The UDP network stream is fairly lightweight and should pose no bandwidth issues for computers connected across a LAN. In theory even modem connections offer enough bandwidth, but packet latency might be high enough to interfere with performance.