Changes: Satellaview

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Satellaview [Edit] [Talk]

The Satellaview was a retail satellite modem that was made specifically for the Super Famicom. It was never released in America or Europe, and was quite pricey at ¥18,000, which was then nearly $200. The Satellaview, a Nintendo developed and sold device, used the St. GIGA satellite radio service, through which game data was broadcast during a special segment called Super Famicom Hour. During the broadcast time people could download games to the Satellaview's internal memory or an optional memory cartridge.

Until 1999 the Satellaview service was controlled by both St. GIGA and Nintendo. After 1999 St. GIGA was the sole controller of the service.

Name

The word Satellaview is a portmanteau of the words "satellite", the way which the device receives broadcasts, and "view". The full name of the console is Broadcast Satellaview X, or BS-X for short. The meaning of the X at the end of the name has been a source of debate. Many think it stands for "transfer", when others think it means "unknown" or something similar. Because the term BS-X is widely used, many people didn't or still don't know what it stands for. Some falsely claim that the acronym means "Bandai Satellaview X". Bandai, however, did not had anything to do with the console.

Hardware

The Satellaview is plugged into the bottom of the Super Famicom. A bracket that comes packaged with the device provides power to it once it is plugged into the Super Famicom. An Application Cartridge, required to run the Satellaview and to connect to St. GIGA, is inserted into the Super Famicom's cartridge slot. The Application Cartridge uses an unconventional menu in the form of an explorable small town, where different buildings represents different functions of the Satellaview. In deluxe bundles the Satellaview came packaged with an 8-megabit Memory Pak. Most downloaded software can fit within the Satellaview's 512 kilobits of storage, but some games require the 8 megabits of storage.

Games

Games that were offered through the service were mostly handled by Nintendo. Other companies delivered some titles, though in the long run Nintendo did most of the work when it came to publishing and developing. Many third parties would develop a video game and have Nintendo publish it for them, though some, such as Squaresoft, would do it themselves. The games themselves were free, though the player had to pay a monthly subscription fee not to mention purchasing the system in the first place.

The games would be made available for download during a certain time and date set by St. GIGA. During that time, players could connect to the St. GIGA service to download the game and play it. SoundLink data was also broadcast during this time. Most games, once downloaded, could be played without connecting to St. GIGA, but games using SoundLink required SoundLink data to be streaming. Games were offered for download several times each, with some games recieving only one download opportunity. Satellaview games were broadcast from April 23, 1995 to June 30, 2000.

SoundLink

Some games, such as the three BS Zelda games , feature the SoundLink service, through which CD-quality sound was streamed through the St. GIGA satellite connection. SoundLink also allowed streaming of voice acting - the BS Zelda games included a fully-voiced "narrator" who would guide and give helpful hints and advice to the players throughout the game. Because SoundLink required a currently broadcasting music and/or voice track, some games such as the three BS Zeldas could not be played at any time but only during broadcast of the sound data. These games were also time-limited; the broadcast would end after a set time, so the games had to be completed before then. After the last broadcast of the SoundLink data for a game, that game could not be played ever again. Some time-sensitive games were split into parts or "days", whereby one could play one part in one day, then play the next part tomorrow, and so on.

Trivia

It is likely that the device was not released outside of Japan as there was no equivalent service for the device to work with and St.Giga is a Japan-only service. The unpopularity of audio dramas in the US probably played a part as well, as well as the difficulty and required scale of voice acting translation and recording.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Head
-[[Image:Satellaview_with_Super_Famicom.jpg|thumb|right|Satellaview]]
+| type = System
-The '''Satellaview''' was a retail satellite modem that was made specifically for the [[Super Famicom]]. It was never released in America or Europe, and was quite pricey at ¥18,000, which was then nearly $200. The Satellaview, a [[Nintendo]] developed and published device, was made possible by the broadcasting company St. GIGA who would send signals during the self titled Super Famicom Hour. During these hours people could download games to their memory packs or the console itself, which plugs into the bottom of the Super Famicom.
+| quote =
+| speaker =
+| stub =
+| class =
+}}
+{{Hardware
+|image = [[Image:Satellaview with Super Famicom.jpg|230 px|center]]
+|caption = The Satellaview connected to the Super Famicom.
+|manufacturer = [[Nintendo]]
+|release = [[File:JP.png|15 px]] April [[1995]]
+|generation = Fourth generation
+|processor =
+|gpu =
+|memory =
+|resolution =
+|media = BS-X Application Cartridge + optional 8-megabit Memory Pak
+|input = [[Super Famicom]] controller
+|online = St.GIGA
+|price = [[File:JP.png|15 px]] ¥18,000
+|size =
+|shipped =
+|bestseller =
+|backward =
+|preceded =
+|followed =}}
+The '''Satellaview''' was a retail satellite modem that was made specifically for the [[Super Famicom]]. It was never released in America or Europe, and was quite pricey at ¥18,000, which was then nearly $200. The Satellaview, a [[Nintendo]] developed and sold device, used the St. GIGA satellite radio service, through which game data was broadcast during a special segment called Super Famicom Hour. During the broadcast time people could download games to the Satellaview's internal memory or an optional memory cartridge.
+Until 1999 the Satellaview service was controlled by both St. GIGA and Nintendo. After 1999 St. GIGA was the sole controller of the service.
 ==Name==
-The word Satellaview is supposedly a mixture between the words "satellite", through which the console receives the broadcasts, and "view", a word whose purpose is unknown. The full name of the console is Broadcast Satellaview X, or BS-X for short. The meaning of the X at the end of the name has been a source of debate. Many think it stands for "transfer", when others think it means "unknown" or something similar. Because the term BS-X is widely used, many people didn't or still don't know what it stands for, some falsely claiming that it means "Bandai Satellaview X". [[Bandai]], however, has not had anything to do with the console.
+The word Satellaview is a portmanteau of the words "satellite", the way which the device receives broadcasts, and "view". The full name of the console is Broadcast Satellaview X, or BS-X for short. The meaning of the X at the end of the name has been a source of debate. Many think it stands for "transfer", when others think it means "unknown" or something similar. Because the term BS-X is widely used, many people didn't or still don't know what it stands for. Some falsely claim that the acronym means "Bandai Satellaview X". [[Bandai]], however, did not had anything to do with the console.
-==Package==
+==Hardware==
-The Satellaview is plugged into the bottom of the Super Famicom, similar to the [[Super Game Boy]]. A bracket that came packaged with it would provide the power to Satellaview once plugged into the Super Famicom. An application also came included with the overall package which some consider a game. The characters in the application where the characters who would later appear in the ''Legend of Zelda'' remakes for the service. An 8-Megabit Memory Pack also came with the game which could be rewritten. The actual unit had memory as well, however if a game required a lot of memory then the Memory Pack would come in handy.
+The Satellaview is plugged into the bottom of the Super Famicom. A bracket that comes packaged with the device provides power to it once it is plugged into the Super Famicom. An Application Cartridge, required to run the Satellaview and to connect to St. GIGA, is inserted into the Super Famicom's cartridge slot. The Application Cartridge uses an unconventional menu in the form of an explorable small town, where different buildings represents different functions of the Satellaview. In deluxe bundles the Satellaview came packaged with an 8-megabit Memory Pak. Most downloaded software can fit within the Satellaview's 512 kilobits of storage, but some games require the 8 megabits of storage.
 ==Games==
+Games that were offered through the service were mostly handled by [[Nintendo]]. Other companies delivered some titles, though in the long run Nintendo did most of the work when it came to publishing and developing. Many third parties would develop a video game and have Nintendo publish it for them, though some, such as Squaresoft, would do it themselves. The games themselves were free, though the player had to pay a monthly subscription fee not to mention purchasing the system in the first place.
+The games would be made available for download during a certain time and date set by St. GIGA. During that time, players could connect to the St. GIGA service to download the game and play it. SoundLink data was also broadcast during this time. Most games, once downloaded, could be played without connecting to St. GIGA, but games using SoundLink required SoundLink data to be streaming. Games were offered for download several times each, with some games recieving only one download opportunity. Satellaview games were broadcast from April 23, 1995 to June 30, 2000.
-Games that were offered through the service were mostly handled by [[Nintendo]]. Other companies delivered some titles, though in the long run Nintendo did most of the work when it came to publishing and developing. Many third parties would develop a video game and have Nintendo publish it for them, though some, such as Squaresoft, would do it themselves. The games themselves were free, though the player had to pay a monthly subscription fee not to mention purchasing the system in the first place.
-The games would be made available for download when St. GIGA set a date. During that date, you would not only have to download, but for some you'd also have to play that game within a set time limit. If a game would be made available at 4:00, then you'd only be given a few hours to play and then would have to wait next week to play again. Other games you could download to the harddrive of the console or the memory pack that came included in the Deluxe package.
-Satellaview games were broadcast from April 23, 1995 to June 30, 2000.
-==Live voice==
+==SoundLink==
-Some games, such as the two BS Zelda games , featured a "Live Voice", where a "narrator" would guide and give helpful hints and advice to the players through the game.  Because of the inclusion of the Live Voice, some of the games; like the two BS Zelda's could not be played at any time like the other BS-X games, but only during the set hours.
+Some games, such as the three BS Zelda games , feature the SoundLink service, through which CD-quality sound was streamed through the St. GIGA satellite connection. SoundLink also allowed streaming of voice acting - the BS Zelda games included a fully-voiced "narrator" who would guide and give helpful hints and advice to the players throughout the game. Because SoundLink required a currently broadcasting music and/or voice track, some games such as the three BS Zeldas could not be played at any time but only during broadcast of the sound data. These games were also time-limited; the broadcast would end after a set time, so the games had to be completed before then. After the last broadcast of the SoundLink data for a game, that game could not be played ever again. Some time-sensitive games were split into parts or "days", whereby one could play one part in one day, then play the next part tomorrow, and so on.
+==Trivia==
-[[Category: Nintendo]]
+*It is likely that the device was not released outside of Japan as there was no equivalent service for the device to work with and St.Giga is a Japan-only service. The unpopularity of audio dramas in the US probably played a part as well, as well as the difficulty and required scale of voice acting translation and recording.
-[[Category:Nintendo]]
-[[Category:Nintendo consoles]]
+[[Category:Super Nintendo Entertainment System]]