The is a satellite modem peripheral for the Super Famicom, produced by Nintendo as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released in Japan on April 23, 1995, as the successor to the Famicom's Network System. Containing a megabyte of ROM space and 512 kilobytes of RAM, Credited as the world's first digital satellite radio station, The company was initially a success, and is recognized for its innovative concept and nonstandard methodology. It later began releasing albums featuring its own music as well as foreign music such as Hearts of Space and various compositions by Deep Forest, and various pieces of merchandise such as program guides and "sound calendars". By 1994, St.GIGA struggled financially due to the Japanese Recession reducing consumer spending on ambient music and satellite systems. Nintendo purchased a 19.5% stake in St.GIGA in May, as a way to "rescue" the company and help to successfully restructure it.
Satellaview development began shortly after the acquisition, reportedly in production alongside the Virtual Boy and Nintendo 64. While Nintendo was producing the peripheral, St.GIGA revamped its broadcasting schedule to include a new programming block, the "Super Famicom Hour" providing gameplay tips and news for Nintendo's upcoming Super Famicom games. Several third-party developers, such as Capcom, Taito, Konami, Seta, and SquareSoft, then announced plans to produce Satellaview games. Though Nintendo was in a slump due to falling Super Famicom game sales and the Virtual Boy's failure, its management remained confident in Satellaview's success and would help calm any consumer concerns; company president Hiroshi Yamauchi expected to sell roughly 2 million Satellaview units each year. Pre-orders were available beginning February 25, 1995. It was only sold via mail order, instead of being released into stores. When the service first launched, St.GIGA had a number of issues regarding broadcasting video games and video game-related services through the Satellaview service, such as legal issues with other companies and technical restraints of the time. In June 1996, Nintendo announced a potential partnership with Microsoft to release a similar service for Windows, which would combine St.GIGA's broadcasting services with dial-up Internet; this was never launched. By March 1997, St.GIGA reported that Satellaview had 116,378 active users.
By mid 1998, Nintendo's relationship with St.GIGA began to deteriorate. St.GIGA refused a debt-management plan created by Nintendo to reduce the firm's capital, though having ¥8.8 billion in debt, and had also failed to apply for a government digital satellite broadcasting license by a deadline. This led to Nintendo halting all production of new games and content for the peripheral beginning March 1999, and to cancel content and services via a new BS-4 satellite.
Technical specifications
A diagram of Satellaview operation|thumb
thumb|Satellaview AV selector
The Satellaview device connects to the expansion port on the underside of the Super Famicom, in a manner similar to peripherals such as the 64DD or the Sega CD. Each unit was packaged with a custom four-way AC adapter and AV selector for connecting the console to a BS (broadcast satellite) tuner. A power-transfer bracket supplies power to the Super Famicom. The device adds 1 megabyte of ROM, which contains the operating system, and 512 kilobytes of RAM.
The required system cartridge, BS-X: Sore wa Namae o Nusumareta Machi no Monogatari (commonly translated as BS-X: The Town Whose Name Was Stolen), functions both as an interactive menu for the Satellaview service and as a standalone game. It presents a hub world styled after EarthBound, with buildings representing Satellaview's services. Players can create an avatar, purchase items, play minigames, read announcements from St.GIGA and Nintendo, and participate in contests. The cartridge also expands the Super Famicom's capabilities by providing additional RAM beyond that contained in the Satellaview unit. Game and broadcast data are stored on 8-megabit memory packs that insert into the top of this cartridge.
Games and services
thumb|Winners of Satellaview competitions were awarded special prizes, such as [[Bemani Pocket games.]]
A total of 114 games were released for Satellaview; some are remakes or updates of older Family Computer and Super Famicom games, and others were created specifically for the service. EarthBound creator Shigesato Itoi designed a fishing game called Itoi Shigesato no Bass Tsuri No. 1. Third-party games include SquareSoft's Radical Dreamers and Treasure Conflix, Pack-In-Video's Harvest Moon, Chunsoft's Shiren the Wanderer, Jaleco's Super Earth Defense Force, and ASCII's Derby Stallion '96. Unlike other Satellaview games, SoundLink games could only be played on a live schedule. Soundlink magazines included commentary, often by popular Japanese personalities, such as Bakushō Mondai and All Night Nippon. A special newsletter by both St.GIGA and Nintendo included service updates such as contests and upcoming events. Kill Screen labeled Satellaview as "perhaps one of the most crucial early experiments in combining games with storytelling", specifically the Soundlink games and voice acting. They were disappointed at the loss of the entire Soundlink live content library upon discontinuation. Randnet had many similar features, such as a Nintendo newsletter and online gaming, plus chat and email. Nintendo attempted to have St.GIGA transition from Satellaview to the 64DD, however, when St.GIGA refused, Nintendo instead partnered with Japanese media company Recruit to form Randnet.
Satellaview has a large cult following since the late 2000s due to most of its content having been lost after the service was closed. Many video game preservationists and Nintendo fans have searched for memory packs to recover game data and preserve it online. Fans have created custom private servers that work with the official BS-X application cartridge, and translated certain games such as those from the Legend of Zelda series. In retrospective years, publications have raised concerns about the permanent loss of much Satellaview content, specifically live audio from Soundlink games and digital newsletters.
See also
- Nintendo Power (cartridge)